Together Is Key
by LifeFail
Summary: The Curse of Moonacre has ended, and everything is back to normal. Almost, that is. When Maria and Robin discover the curse isn't actually over, will they be able to stop it? Especially when the curse happens to involve marriage, a topic which the pair aren't exactly ready to face. Find out in Together Is Key. (I've failed miserably at every summary I have ever wrote -.-' ) Rated T
1. Chapter 1: What's Going on?

**Chapter 1: What's Going On?**

**AN: Hey guys. This is a Secret of Moonacre fanfic. I hope you enjoy This is set after Maria jumps off the cliff so yeah. There will be more drama and romance later XD**

**(WARNING: There are one or two suggestive moments. Nothing detailed. Just implying.)**

**No extreme hating or anything, but feel free to point out any mistakes, or places you think I could improve (but do it nicely ;3 )**

**Comment, vote, and follow please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

The wind that blew around the cliff-side was chilly, and it bit at Maria's pale skin. Puffs of it danced around her braided hair, sending the red locks flying. Goosebumps rose on the skin underneath her dark red dress as drops of water hit the girl's legs, which were dangling over the rock. It was the exact place Maria had jumped that night, about three days ago. Everything was calmer now though. Coeur De Noir and Sir Benjamin were starting to tolerate each other, and a wedding was being planned for Mrs. Helitrope and Digweed, as well as Sir Benjamin and Loveday. The De Noirs and the Merryweathers were both getting along, and they had even invited their former enemies to the manor a few times. Everyone and everything was doing fine. There was only one problem:

Robin.

Maria sighed, tilting her head back to stare at the grey sky. Things had gotten strange between them after the whole cliff incident. At first it had been fine, the both of them sharing their usual banter. But the next morning, when the two families met up, Robin kept glancing at her every few seconds and he seemed kind of….disturbed. Maria had ignored this, figuring he was just being awkward about the change in their situations. It kept on going though. Later, Robin had went off with his usual group of friends, some of which nodded awkwardly at her in acknowledgment, and a few who smirked at her, and then at Robin. The boy appeared annoyed and he had ushered them away quickly. The whole situation was strange, and Maria decided she would confront him. If she ever got the chance, that is. Robin had also started avoiding her. Or, at least, he was staying away from Moonacre. Oaf.

There was a deep rumble coming from the sky, and Maria took one glance at the tumbling twisting sea below her before scooting back away from the ledge. She lugged herself up and headed towards the tunnel leading to the tree cave. Rain fell from above slowly, before turning into a downpour. Wonderful. She would be soaked as well as late when she arrived home. Uncle would probably be furious.

Maria snuck through the secret entrance that sat in the wall surrounding the mansion. It was still rainy, so the whitish rocks were slippery. She took a quick detour to the stables, where she was surprised to find a few black horses. The De Noirs must be visiting she realized. Grabbing her velvet skirt, she squeezed it out quickly, before doing the same for her wet braid. This would be her chance to corner Robin.

Maria dashed towards the main entrance, and found the fireplace inside lit. She peeked into the dining room, finding it empty. The girl did the same for the library, and their study, until realizing there were voices coming from the piano room. Rain still pounded on the roof, while a grey light streamed through the windows.

Maria reached her destination, and slowly nudged the door open. The whole Merryweather household was gathered there, as well as Coeur De Noir and Robin. Sir Benjamin turned as she opened the door, relief on his face, which then turned to annoyance. He opened his mouth, but before any words could come out, Mrs. Heliotrope stepped forward.

"Maria dear, where on earth have you been? We've all been so worried- oh! And you are soaked to the bone!" the lady fussed.

Maria shook her head. "Mrs. Heliotrope I'm fine. Really…." she replied. Glancing around the room as the nanny dabbed at her face with a handkerchief, Maria found Loveday peering anxiously at her. The woman walked forward to stand next to the other lady.

"You might want to go change, you'll catch a cold," Loveday told her. She ushered Maria back towards the door, glancing over her shoulder. "We'll only be a little while." Maria also glanced over, but instead of looking at Sir Benjamin, her eyes drifted towards Robin, who simply stared at the floor.

Maria changed quickly into a silvery blue dress, similar to the one she had worn upon first arriving at the manor. For some reason, she had this tingling jumpy feeling flowing through her chest. Her determination to confront Robin had drooped a tiny bit when she saw his face. It had happened that night on the cliff, when they had glanced at each other, too. The feeling was now disturbing her. She couldn't tell if she was excited (for what reason?) or sick. Why did things have to be so annoyingly complicated? Huffing, she combed her through her wet hair, and left it loose upon her shoulders. The little door to her room opened, and Loveday peeked in.

"Ready?" she asked smiling. Maria nodded. Loveday was kind of like a sister, yet also like a mother. It was strange to think of her as either of those, but it was true that the woman was her aunt to be, although that title was also awkward.

By the time they made it back to the Piano room, the group was discussing marriage plans. Maria briskly walked past the adults, to where Robin was leaning against a wall. Now or never, as her father had always said. Not that he ever really stuck to that motto.

Maria stopped a few feet away from Robin, suddenly unsure again, before throwing her chin up, and also leaning against the wall. She would play it casual.

"Hello Robin," she greeted.

He snorted, and Maria glared at him, although she was more relieved than angry.

"What? What are you snorting at?"

"That was the most 'pleasant' way you've ever said hello to me," he told her grinning.

"I've said hello nicely before...I think."

Maria was surprised and relieved to find he was acting so…normal. A minute ago he wouldn't even look her in the eyes. Maybe she was imagining the whole issue.

"So what are you going to wear to the wedding?" she asked him in a teasing voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robin questioned, a suspicious look on his face.

"Well, I've only ever seen you wear one outfit…"

He turned to face her. "It's not one outfit!"

"Really?" Maria asked, now smiling.

"Of course not!" Robin leaned back against the wall, "it just looks similar…"

Maria shoved his arm. "That still means you're wearing the same clothing."

There was a small cry from the other side of the room, and Maria glanced over to see Mrs. Heliotrope frantically patting at her own dress, as if she had lost something. Sir Benjamin stood to the side looking slightly strained.

"What do you mean you didn't book the service? And the priest for our wedding, did you at least contact him?" Sir Benjamin demanded.

Mrs. Heliotrope looked lost.

"I-well I…I was going to send a letter….."

Loveday interrupted. "It doesn't matter now Benjamin. But the weddings are in a few weeks, so we'll have to have everything ready…."

While Mrs. Heliotrope and Digweed had decided to have their ceremony in a spacious white church a little while down the road, Sir Benjamin and Loveday had chosen to have theirs in a beautiful forest clearing. The church would have to be booked, as well as a priest for the forest wedding.

Coeur De Noir, Maria noticed, was watching the situation quietly. He suddenly held up a hand.

"If I may, I have a suggestion."

Sir Benjamin nodded. "Go on."

"Seeing as the other preparations for the wedding are being planned later today, and none of us would have the time to go down to the church ourselves, we can simply send Robin and Maria."

Robin glanced at me quickly, before looking back at the group.

"But Father…."

"No arguing, Robin," the man replied, cutting him off.

Sir Benjamin nodded. "Very well. I'm sure Maria will agree?" He turned towards her.

Maria opened her mouth before closing it again. "Yes…."

"Good. You'll have to take one of the De Noir horses. We will be using the others to go complete some preparations, and Coeur will be doing the same."

Mrs. Heliotrope looked like she might protest, but Digweed was already leading them towards the stables. Once there, he untied the smaller of two black horses.

"That'll be your horse, then, Sir and Miss," he told them smiling. He stood to the side as Robin took the reins.

"I'll be riding in the front then," he declared.

Maria frowned. "Why should you get to lead?"

Robin looked uncomfortable. "If I ride in the back I might get…I might …" he fumbled. There was an awkward pause before he set his jaw, and quickly jumped on the horse.

"It's because it's my horse alright, so just get on."

Maria rolled her eyes, but struggled onto the horse anyways. Her skirt was tripping her feet up, and she felt self conscious. The saddle was made of rough hard leather, and she hesitated when she made it up. Usually she would just ride with her feet on either side of the horse, which was unladylike. It felt awkward to do that with Robin here, especially since she had to sit with him. Instead, she simply swung her legs sideways, digging her hands into the saddle.

"Are you ready back there?" Robin asked sounding huffy.

"Yes. Are you ready in the front there?"

Robin sighed shaking his head, and he flicked the reins, leading the horse out of the barn.

"You are one of the cheekiest girls," he said, "I have ever met."

"The same applies to you."

"What? You think I'm a girl?"

"You know what I mean," Maria replied.

The sky was still stormy, though the rain had lessened to a drizzle, and there was no more lightning. There was a strong wind now, and Robin's hat nearly blew off.

Digweed was already at the front gate, which he had unlocked. He waved at them as they passed, and Maria returned the gesture.

Robin flicked the reins again, and the horse shot forward. Cold wind rushed up to meet the two and Maria let out a tiny shriek, nearly falling off the horse. She reached up without thinking and grabbed Robin around the waist. Her eyes closed and she hugged herself against his back.

"Having trouble back there princess?"

Maria's eyes snapped open, and realizing what she was doing, her whole face blushed red, and she pulled away slightly.

"I'm doing fine, thank you…."

The mortification only lasted a little while. It melted away and she felt rather happy that he didn't mind her holding onto him. Her eyes drifted upwards to where his curls where blowing wildly in the wind. His back, she noticed, was broad, but not too broad, and she could see a little bit of his face when he looked around. He was familiar, comforting even.

Her heart pounded, and she understood that these were _not _the sort of things you were supposed to be thinking about your friends. These feelings were getting ridiculous. Here she was, acting like a heroine from some romance novel.

_No, I think not_, she thought to herself. He was a De Noir and she a Merryweather. She removed her hands carefully away from him, clutching the saddle again. Though unstable, she was able to keep a good enough grip.

They rode along a long dusty path, a dead field to their left. Soon enough, they reached the forest trail, which would lead them to the church. It was winter, and cloudy, so the forest appeared dark and grey. The wind had gotten so strong Maria could barley keep her eyes open, and her hair was going wild. Robin's hat had also nearly flown off never to be seen again, but luckily Maria had grabbed it just in time.

"Robin!" she shouted over the wind

"What!?"

"Shouldn't we turn back? It looks like there's a big storm coming!"

Robin shook his head, and raised one hand to point ahead.

"The church is right there, we'll take shelter if we have to!" he replied loudly.

The white building stood about two stories high at the edge of the village, though there was only one level. It had a very high ceiling, with small stain glass window along the top of the walls. The whole place was white, even the benches, and the floor was a very light brown made of marble. There was a platform in the front, also light brown.

Robin pulled the horse to a stop at the front of the great building. He swung his leg over and jumped down. Maria didn't look him in the face as she pushed herself off the saddle. She was probably projecting or something. It would be best to let the 'feelings' die down.

A few wooden poles stood in a line to the side giving them a place to tie their horse. Robin grabbed the reins and led the stallion over to the first pole. He tied a tight knot, before running towards the church, gesturing for Maria to follow.

Once inside, they spoke to the Parson, and collected the necessary papers that the adults would need to sign. Although staying in the building was an option, the two agreed that it would only worry their families, and it would be best to move on. Thanking the Parson, they exited the church, Robin tucking the papers into one of his pockets, since Maria didn't have any. The town could be seen from where the church stood, and it appeared deserted on the outside. Everyone was probably tucked away in their homes, hoping for the storm to pass.

Robin ran over to the horse, and untied the reins quickly.

"We might want to hurry Maria!" he yelled.

Maria ran over to the horse, squinting her eyes. She once again struggled onto the saddle, deciding that being ladylike didn't really matter in a situation like this, and sat with both legs on either side of the horse. Her arms snaked themselves around Robin, and she ignored the pang in her chest.

The horse turned away from the church, and they went speeding back into the woods. Trees howled along with the wind, shaking this way and that, sending drops of water into the air. Thousands of leaves skittered and tumbled along the ground. It was the worse weather Maria had ever seen.

*CRACK*

Maria hadn't even had time to process the noise before she was flying into the air, twisting so she caught a glimpse of the dark sky and the trees shaking in front of it.

_What-?_

Her thought didn't finish, and she hit the ground with such a force, her breath was knocked away. The world spun, as she lay on the ground, trying to breathe, to do _something_. Anything. Everything was flashing before her, and she could even hear voices. No, one voice.

"Maria? Maria wake up….Maria? Maria!"

Hands were grasping her shoulders shaking her, but she felt like a ragdoll. Suddenly the air rushed back into her chest and she gasped, blinking so her vision cleared. Robin sat over her, that expression that she knew so well, on his face. Eyes wide and mouth open slightly. He let out a deep breath and leaned back before looking at her again.

"Are you okay?"

Maria nodded, dazed. Her muscles shifted a little as she tried to sit up, but it felt like she had bruised her whole shoulder. Robin reached over and grabbed her arm, slowly helping her, though she felt like a magnet was pulling her back towards the center of the earth.

Robin's intense gaze met hers.

"The horse is gone," he said as he turned his head to look around. "She spooked at that noise and threw us."

He started to stand up.

"Let me just look around…."

Maria felt strange. "Robin wai-"

A force swept over them, pulling at her for a second before continuing on. Everything froze around them, the trees, the leaves, even the rain. Maria's mouth opened and closed as the tried to process what was going on. Glancing at Robin, she saw he had a bewildered expression on his face.

"Robin, what's-"

The girl was interrupted again. A silvery voice filled the still forest.

"_And so the valley was saved by the Moon Princess, Maria Merryweather, but unknown to the two families, the curse was still unbroken. The Princess had broken the first part of the curse, but the two families were never united properly, and neither had given up their pride before Maria had leapt into the sea. Although two members from both sides were to be married, the current Moon Princess was not engaged. The pearls attached themselves to the Princes as she rode away from the sea,, and were now hidden once again….."_

A sinking feeling filled Maria's chest. Not over….? Engaged? She couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"Robin!" she gasped.

The scene sped up and suddenly everything became animated again. Rain fell harder than ever, wind swarmed around her, and a rumble of thunder boomed through the sky. Shocked, Maria looked around for the boy. Her eyes found his, and he looked…horrified. And they stared at each other, both trying desperately to comprehend what had just happened. If the voice had been true, and real, then there was only one thing Maria now knew.

The curse was back.


	2. Chapter 2: It's Not Over

**Chapter 2: It's not Over**

**AN: ****Hi! So this is the second chapter ^.^ I'm still trying to figure out my writing style, and because this is a fanfic (this is the first one I've ever written actually) I'm writing in a more rushed paced style then I would usually use. So forgive me for that O.o Enjoy!**

**Thank you SO much to anyone who commented or liked or anything **** HERE'S A GUMMY WORM FOR YOU**

**(WARNING: There are one or two suggestive moments. Nothing detailed. Just implying.)**

**Comment, vote, and follow please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Secret of Moonacre or the Little White Horse. Nor do I own any of the characters. Just my own writings (If I did own these there would be a second movie as well as more fan stuff and more books and life would be awesome T.T)**

Maria stared at the cold marble floor, feeling utterly numb. The fire burning to her left did little to soothe the chill. Her red hair dripped onto the chair on which she sat, and the girl clenched her hands which lay on her lap. Wrolf, who was back to being a dog, lay at her feet. She could hear Sir Benjamin bellowing from the library, where they had pulled Robin away to hear a detailed retelling of events. Maria hadn't been questioned, as they had dubbed her, with pale wet skin shivering, 'in need of rest'. Or at least Mrs. Heliotrope had.

It had been a shaky ride home for Maria, the shock and bruises sinking in. Robin had helped her though, actually grabbing her in his arms, placing her side saddle in front of him, and keeping her tight against his chest. The warmth had comforted the girl. It was stupid that she even needed comforting, but Maria was slightly too tired to care.

There was a click as the door to the library opened and Robin stepped out into the dark front living room. Wrolf raised his head for a few seconds. The boy walked slowly away from the door, and leaned against the wall next to it. An orange glow flickered on his face from the fire, and Maria looked at him.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice slightly croaky.

Robin's looked down for a second before back at her.

"Not much. They're just…assessing the situation," he told her, attempting to smile. He failed.

Maria looked away, instead turning her attention to the black dog at her feet. "What are we going to do Wrolf?" the girl asked the creature, petting his furry head.

The curse was back. After all they had been through, it had still come back, and there one thing making her particularly nervous. The voice had told them that the two families weren't truly connected because the current Moon Princess wasn't married, or engaged. And the current Princess was, in fact, Maria. Of course, the curse hadn't stated anything bad was going to happen, so maybe they could just avoid the whole thing. But then again, a curse was a curse. Getting married still wasn't looking very appealing, especially at the age of fourteen. And there had been something else about the pearls not being returned to the sea…

There was another click and Loveday walked out, closing the door gently behind her. She touched Robin quickly on the shoulder, and then turned her attention to Maria.

"Oh you're soaking wet again!"

The woman walked over to Maria, and crouched in front of her. Maria stared back, and was suddenly fighting back tears. Tired, cold, and shocked, she found it was harder to control her emotions, and with Loveday's caring face in front of her, reminding her of mother, it was hard to keep anything in.

"I thought it was over," she said, her voice breaking slightly.

Loveday took the girl face in her hands. "Oh, Maria."

And then a few tears slid out. She felt utterly embarrassed and slightly ashamed crying when Robin was there and she didn't dare look to where he stood. The crying turned into full sobs, and Loveday hugged her. It was the most defenseless and worn she had felt since coming to Moonacre. It was the shock, she told herself, just the shock that was making her so weak.

A gentle hand rubbed her back, and her cries subsided. Now feeling ridiculous, Maria stared at the floor letting her hair cover her face. She hadn't cried for a long time, not even when the De Noirs had kidnapped her. Why did she cry now?

The hand on her back slowed, and Maria heard rustling as Loveday stood up.

"Robin, how about you take Maria upstairs?" the woman asked gently.

Maria couldn't see his response, but Loveday gave her one last hug before going back to the library. As the door creaked closed, the thump of Robin's boots echoed on the floor as he came closer.

"We should go upstairs," he told her quietly.

She wiped her hands over her face quickly, and stood up. Exhaustion hit her and she nearly fell down, but she felt a hand grab her arm tightly.

"Sorry…," Maria glanced at Robin, before removing her arm from his grasp. She walked unsteadily towards the great staircase, jumping a little as a sudden flash of lightning shined through the windows. The staircase and hallways would have been even darker than the front room, but there was a faint grey light coming through the windows. Wrolf had stayed downstairs for whatever reason, and Maria felt cold without the fire or the furry dog. She could sense Robin behind her, and her heart was beating weirdly again. It was strange, but Robin was making her…well….nervous.

The two walked, finally reach the narrow twisting stairs leading up to Maria's room. It was darkest in here, and Maria felt the need to say something to the boy behind her. She took a deep breath, and then stopped, suddenly spinning around to talk. Robin had been closer than she thought, and he tripped a tiny bit on her dress, and catching himself using the walls, his face stopping inches from hers, slightly shorter than her because of the stairs. It was like her mind had ceased to work, and was chugging along just by a tiny bit of will, slow and sluggish. The only thing she could do was stand there, staring at him. It appeared to be the same with him, his charcoal lined eyes wide. He glanced down to something a little bit below her eyes, before his eyes shot up again. Maria snapped out of it.

"I-," she shook her head, "sorry I was just…"

She looked down. "We should go upstairs…"

The girl quickly turned around, trying not to remember how close he had been. How his breath had felt on her face…Her heart was going wild, and she felt like she might faint.

Once at the top of the staircase, Maria led the way to her little room, turning the doorknob and ducking in. Robin followed closely. Now alone with Robin in an even smaller space than before, Maria felt like a rabbit stuck in a burrow with a hawk. She looked at him as he gazed around her room and wondered why. Robin was just Robin. He wouldn't hurt her. And even if he tried, she knew she could take him on. After all, she had escaped him several times, when they had been enemies.

The boy stopped studying the room, and met her gaze. She smiled.

"It's a lovely room isn't it?" she asked, walking over to the end of the bed, and trailing her fingers over it.

"Well, it's better than the one you had back home that's for sure," he scoffed.

"I suppose- wait?" she looked at him. "What you mean? You've never seen my old room…"

Robin rubbed his hand over his face in exasperation.

"I didn't…It's not…"

"Robin."

"Okay, okay!" he rolled his eyes. "I snuck into your old room. My father thought you had hidden the pearls there or something."

Maria stared at him. He had been in her room. When she didn't know him. While she was asleep. In her night clothes. He could have killed her that night, or kidnapped her. She couldn't really be angry with him though, since he hadn't known her then, and his father had ordered him to. Still, it was strange. She sighed, and sat down onto her bed. Robin had assumed his usual position, and was once again leaning against the wall. It was like he never sat down.

"I thought I saw you at my father's funeral too…." She told him.

"I wasn't actually sent there, I just wanted to see what you looked like…It would make it easier later for me to…you know…" he replied awkwardly.

"No, I understand."

She missed London, and her father…A thought suddenly occurred to her. She leapt off the bed, startling Robin quite a bit, and dug underneath the bed. Her arms came out, a large book in her hand. The thick cover was slightly dusty, and it was heavier than usual in her hands.

"That voice in the forest….when it was telling us about the curse, it sound kind of similar to the way the narrator in this book told the Moon Princess's story," she explained to Robin quickly.

She opened the book, and flipped to the last page she had read, telling her about the story of the first curse. Her mouth dropped open. There were many many more pages. She studied the folds of the book, and sure enough, it retold the events that had just recently occurred. How she had arrived at Moonacre, Robin trying to kidnap her, everything was there. Reaching the end of the chapter, there Maria saw her own face, smiling back at her. It was from the cliff, that night she had jumped. There was one big thing she noticed. Little white objects sparkled in her hair. The pearls.

Maria reached up to touch her head, but it felt the same as usual. She looked up and found Robin kneeling down next to her.

His eyes searched hers.

"There are a few more pages…"

She glanced down. He was right. Taking a deep breath, Maria reached down and turned the last page, and there sat the third chapter. Her eyes drifted down. It spoke of everything, how they came home after the cliff incident, Robin and Maria riding out to the church, and there were extra details also. It was like someone who knew exactly what the curse meant, was watching and narrating what the pair and everyone was doing, while at the same time commenting on what they did. Like a storybook.

And then she found what she had been really searching for. The door to her bedroom banged open just as she read the paragraph, but she didn't look up, already knowing it was the others. There in the book, in plain ink, was written:

_-and so the two found the book, and in it, their destiny. Written in ink on the pages, it stated that the only way to stop the second curse was to marry two of very specific blood, the two youngest of the families….Maria Merryweather, and Robin De Noir._

And then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3: Engaged or Not?

**Chapter 3: Engaged or Not?**

**AN:**** Hi, I'm back. I'm writing these stories at the speed of light XD Anyway, I've got some wonderful and sweet reviews so far and I would just like to give a quick thank you to anyone who has followed or commented **** GUMMY WORMS FOR ALL OF YOU**

**REVIEWS: **

**urno1fan****: Thank you so much! You're comment made me jump onto Microsoft and write the second chapter quickly XD You are also the first person who commented on this story, and it really made me happy to get a review as good as yours.**

**Cassie: ****Oh my gosh, thank you **** I try to imagine the characters as I'm writing, and what the scenes I'm writing would look like if they made it into a movie. I'm really working on correcting my writing style, and being able to make the characters realistic, so this comment made my day. It really means a lot to me, thank you. **

**This chapter has less interaction between the characters, and it's more like a filler, except you can't just skip over it and go to the next chapter **

**Comment, vote, and follow please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Secret of Moonacre or the Little White Horse. Nor do I own any of the characters. Just my own writings (If I did own these there would be a second movie with Maria and Robin getting married and life would be AMAZING T.T)**

Maria breathed in deeply, holding herself up tall. Her lacy white dress was covered in tiny little white beads, glimmering just like pearls. Lace and frills decorated the sleeves of her dress, and a long trailing veil fell over her face. The dark green walls of the dressing room were making her feel nauseous.

"I can do this," she whispered to herself, before reaching out and picking up the small bouquet of pink flowers Loveday had created for her. They were lovely.

She turned to the shiny two handled door that lead out to the staircase, but instead found herself standing in a long carpeted hall, a heavy wooden entrance in front of her. _How strange_, she thought to herself, but proceeded to open the new door anyways. It creaked open to reveal a beautiful field of pink flowers, similar to the ones in her hand. An alarm bell ringed somewhere inside her head, but she ignored it.

"Mrs. Heliotrope would love this," she said out loud to herself, smiling.

A strangely bright light filled the field, and Maria could hear birds chirping from somewhere in the trees. One or two butterflies fluttered lazily about the flowers. Maria picked up her white skirts, and stepped, beaming, into the field. It was so relaxing and peaceful that she could stay here for ever. She twirled, letting out a little laugh.

Something black dash across the corner of her eyes, and she stopped spinning. An enormous black dog padded through the long grass, and right past her. His black fur gleamed, almost like it was oily, in the weird sunlight.

"Wrolf!" Maria said happily.

The dog only glanced back at her before disappearing into the trees. Feeling a strong urge to go into the trees, Maria started to run after the creature. She found it felt strange running, almost like she was floating, and it wasn't at all tiring. The strange sunlight streamed through leaves here also, and everything seemed to just sparkle.

The trees cleared out suddenly, and Maria stumbled onto a white fabric. She stared down at it in wonder. It was wide enough for two people to walk side by side on, and it appeared to continue, twisting around to somewhere Maria couldn't see, for it was around the bend of a large tree. The girl followed it, her eyes remaining on the floor. What a strange thing to have lying around in the middle of a forest.

"Oh, Maria!" came a stern voice.

The girl's eyes snapped up, and she was surprised to see Mrs. Heliotrope walking briskly toward her.

" !" she exclaimed happily. "You must come and see. I found a beautiu-."

"Maria, please. I'll have to hear your fascinating stories some other time," Mrs. Heliotrope told her abruptly. "But right now we're about to be late!"

Maria stared at her surprised. Usually her nanny was never this stern with her. The woman's first words reminded her of something, but it was forgotten as a hand grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her forward quickly. The forest passed in a blur though they weren't walking all that fast and Maria's eyes couldn't focus on anything.

They stopped suddenly and Maria nearly bumped into the lady, who spun around and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Now, Maria, I'm sure you'll be fine, but remember to keep your head up and don't slouch," Mrs. Heliotrope told her, uncharacteristically stern. She then marched off. Disturbed, Maria glanced around at her surroundings.

The same white sheet from before coated the bumpy ground, several rows of wooden benches next to it. People whom she didn't know sat there smiling at her, and she took a step back. The scene felt strangely familiar, and Maria remembered that she had been doing something before finding the meadow. Something important…

Strange sunlight filled the clearing, and the world spun. Maria opened her eyes to find herself now standing at the end of the white path, a priest standing in front of her. A priest?

"You may now kiss the bride." His voice echoed, and the weird light shimmered where he was standing.

Maria was confused. What bride? She looked to her left and jumped. A boy stood next her, dressed in all black attire. He turned to her and she screamed, dropping the bouquet she had forgotten about. She backed away from him. His face was completely smooth, except for the black hollows where his eyes should have been, and curly brown hair sat underneath the bowler hat he wore.

"Get away from me!" she shouted at him, trying to move away again, but she found her feet wouldn't move.

Horrified, she watched as he came closer and closer. The light was draining away from the clearing, and the audience that had once been smiling at her, now shared the same features as the man in the bowler had. Their eyes, though, gleamed red instead of black.

"No! Get away!" she yelled at him, struggling to do anything. His face closed in, getting closer, and closer, and closer, until….

Maria shot forward, gasping. Her chest heaved as she breathed in and out quickly, a hand reaching up to cover her heart. She stared about the room disoriented. It was her room, warm and comforting. So it had been a dream. Her eyes closed and she breathed out in relief. It was only a dream, she wasn't getting married or…

Maria suddenly remembered the events of earlier.

"Oh no…," she muttered to herself, and covered her face with her hands. The dream hadn't been completely untrue.

She stayed in her protective position, wondering what on earth she was going to do. It wasn't like she didn't like Robin. No, that wasn't it. She liked him, if anything a little too much. But getting married wasn't something she had been planning to do, and besides, she didn't want to jump into something so serious just because of a curse. Robin probably didn't even like her like that. No, she wouldn't be forced into a marriage.

Maria straightened her back and pushed away the covers of her bed. The last thing she remembered was reading the book, so she must have blacked out, she decided.

A fire burned in her fireplace, and when she glanced at her window, the sky was dark. The sound of rain still pattered against the glass, though it seemed the storm had finally died down a little. The girl walked quickly over to her little door, and stepped carefully through it. Her book was missing from her room, the adults' probably taking it away to study. She needed to find Robin.

She cautiously walked down the dark twisting stairs that led to the hall below. It was slightly eerie at night in moonacre, and the moon provided her only sourced of light. The girl reached the end of the stairs, walked quickly through the hall, and flew down the main staircase.

Two black bags sat near the now unlit fireplace, and her book lay on one of the chairs. She knew the bags belonged to the De Noirs. Did that mean Robin was in the manor? The front entrance was open, and chilly night air blew it. She took one last glance around the quiet room before walking over to the unlocked door.

Cold rain dropped onto Maria's pale skin, and she wrapped her arms around her waist. It was completely dark in the courtyard.

"Robin?" she called quietly into the darkness. The only answer was the pitter patter of rain hitting stone.

She took a few cautious steps forward, before she heard a noise from back inside the manor. Retracing her steps, Maria stepped back inside the dark front room. Empty. The girl sighed, and turned to go back upstairs. She would have to talk to Robin in the morning. It was going to be a long night…

Maria tugged out the last knot in her red hair, rubbing a hand soothingly over her scalp afterwards. It was a clear day, and sun poured in from her little window. No one had come to check on her, which she was thankful for, but still found it a little strange. She sighed and glanced over at Serena, who was currently curled up on her bed. The girl petted the fluffy creature before turning and walking out of her room.

Maria reached downstairs, and headed towards the dining room.

"No, I won't allow it!"

The voice was Sir Benjamin's, and he sounded angry. Maria rushed into the room, and saw everyone gathered around the table, her uncle standing up, staring angrily at Coeur De Noir. Robin stood next to his father, his face serious.

"What's going on?" she asked.

The whole room turned to look at her. Sir Benjamin faltered and cleared his throat, Loveday and Mrs. Heliotrope looked worried, and Coeur De Noir simply glanced around. Robin just stood there staring at her.

"What?"

And then Digweed stepped forward, a smile on his face as usual. Maria turned to him. The words that came out of his mouth next nearly stunned her.

"That'll be them discussing when your engagement is then, Miss."

**AN: Sorry it's so short and there wasn't much interaction or anything else XD This kind of like a filler, and I was feeling kind of rushed because I wanted to post something before I go to this thing I have to attend. So yeah. Chapter 4 is going to have more interaction between our lovely main couple. **


	4. Chapter 4: Will You?

**Chapter 4: Getting To Know You**

**AN: ****Wow O.O Thank you too anyone who has added this to their favorites, or followed, and the people who have left amazing reviews. **

**REVIEWS:**

**Guest- Thank you! The comments you (and everyone else) wrote have really made me happy. This is the first time I'm actually putting my writing out there, so these reviews are amazing. I have a lot of fun writing these since I adore the movie, and I feel the need to make the characters as real as they are in the movie. I'm still sorting out the kinks though **

**Comment, vote, and follow please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Secret of Moonacre or the Little White Horse. Nor do I own any of the characters. Just my own writings (If I did, there would be a second movie, and another book, and life would be wonderful T.T)**

"Engagement?"

Maria looked around the room, panicked. Surely it was some sort of a joke? They couldn't be serious, and besides, discussing whether she would or would not get married without her in the room was ludicrous.

She waited patiently for someone to speak up, but they all simply looked guiltily or away. Except for Robin, who was now glancing between her and the others in the room, as if he was watching a play and waiting for the characters to start the drama. Annoyed, Maria turned to her nanny, who was nervously drinking out of a shaking cup of tea on the right side of the room.

"Mrs. Heliotrope, what's going?" she asked, tripping on her words a little bit.

The woman set the cup down immediately, as if forcing herself to be determined, and instead took out a handkerchief, dabbing at her face with an unsteady hand.

"W-well you see Maria, now that there is this…curse...w-we have to…well, we must act accordingly," Mrs. Heliotrope stuttered, while nodding to herself. "In fact, it is our, duty, to this valley. And Coeur De Noir feels it would be best to simply go through with a…engagement…so…oh dear…."

Mrs. Heliotrope stopped talking suddenly, and looked a tiny bit ill. Loveday, who sat between Sir Benjamin and the nervous lady, patted her shoulder.

"So you've all decided that I'm getting married then?" she asked incredulously, a tiny bit of spite dripping from her voice.

Sir Benjamin finally spoke up looking, as usual, very strained. "No Maria, of course not but-."

Maria interrupted him. "No Uncle. Please, you can all continue your discussion. Don't let me interrupt." And with that, she spun on her heel and stormed away. How dare they? Talking about her as if she were a cow being shipped off... Thoughts of speaking to Robin disappeared the more she walked, and annoyance filled her again. Why hadn't he said something? It flattered her somewhere deep inside that he hadn't protested to the proposal of marrying her, but standing there like a puppet, and allowing his father to decide everything wasn't exactly what she thought he would do.

Maria stormed past Wrolf, who was once again at the fireplace. He looked up, disturbed at her angry behavior. She usually patted his head as a greeting in the morning.

The girl continued on, banging the front door open, and stepping into the chilly winter air. It was cold despite the beautiful blue and white sky. Her light pink satin dress, dotted with darker pink flowers, and its long trail, provided little warmth. Needing time to calm down, Maria headed out to the woods, taking deep breaths of the cool air. The trek through the field that lay between her and the trees was slightly difficult, as her dress kept getting caught on twigs and dead bushes.

Sighing, Maria made it into the safe haven of nature. Sunlight streamed through branches and leaves, and the cold calmed her. Birds chirped happily from the trees, and Maria smiled. Sunny winter days were her favorites.

The girl walked deeper and deeper into the woods, until finally she came across the huge fallen tree Robin had jumped over that time she had trapped him using Serena. She pulled herself up onto it with some struggle, and sat on the wood. Her dress trailed towards the leafy floor.

_At least I have this_, she thought, glancing around at the beauty of the trees, and light.

She was still angry about the situation back at the manor, but the feeling faded into the background.

SNAP

Maria tensed. Something had moved just then, she knew it. Something big. After a little while of silence, she relaxed. It was probably a woodland creature of some sort.

RUSTLE

A pang of anxiety shot through her, making her heart pound. Just because they had made an alliance with the De Noirs, didn't mean there weren't other dangers. Maybe if she was lucky, it would be the big black dog she had last seen back at the house.

"Wrolf?" she called out, and very slowly slipped off the tree, and onto the ground. More silence.

"Wrolf?!" Her tone was more panicked this time.

RUSTLE

Reaching down, while she kept her eyes trained on the forest, she picked up a thick branch from off the floor. At least she would have some small type of defense.

The rustle, which had started as the occasional noise here and there from far away, now turned into something greater. It sounded as if something or someone was walking through the forest towards her. The sound wasn't that loud, so she figured whoever it was knew she was there and was trying to keep quiet. Suddenly, the sound stopped. Maria's breathing quickened.

"Maria."

She let out a small scream, and turned around to knock the oaf who had dared sneak up on her like that to a bloody pulp. Before she could though, a hand tightly grabbed her right wrist, making her drop her weapon, and she blindly threw her left arm out. This limb was also grabbed, and she was suddenly tugged forward.

"For the love of- Calm down it's me Robin," said a male voice.

She glanced up to see he was true. His face looked a bit like an angels up close with the sunlight streaming from behind him, his brown hair curling around his pale face, and his eyes were-

Wait, what? Blushing, Maria tugged her wrists roughly from his grasp, and stepped back. She blamed her pounding heart on the shock. Yes, it was always the shocks fault.

Annoyed, she wacked him across the shoulder.

"You inconsiderate oaf!" she shouted at him, and reached down to the floor to grab a handful of soggy leaves and twigs.

"Maria wait-," he tried to say, putting his hands up for protection.

"You stand there like a complete nincompoop back in the kitchen, not even sticking up for me," she yelled, huffing while continuing to throw objects, "and now you come marching into the woods and scare me half to death!"

"Maria, listen to me!"

She paused.

Robin took a step forward, staring her seriously in the face.

"I know you're angry with me, but my father-."

"Oh, this is your father's fault is it?"

Robin put his hands over his face in frustration and groaned, before taking a deep breath. He shot forward suddenly and grabbed Maria by the shoulders. His eyes darted back and forth as he searched hers.

"Listen to me Maria. I didn't say anything back there because…," he struggled with his words, as if he had to force them out, "…because I actually agree with my father."

There was a silence as the words sunk in. Maria's mouth opened and closed.

"But-."

He pulled his hands from her shoulders and threw them out.

"Look, we wouldn't have to get married straight away. Just… engaged…" he said, looking at her with his head slightly tilted. "You're my best friend, Maria…"

Maria just stared at him. It wasn't exactly a proposal, but it was close. A sudden determined feeling struck through her. She liked Robin, he was her best friend. Getting engaged to him wouldn't be awful. And besides, she needed to do this. She had avoided it, determined not to be forced into anything. And she wouldn't be. This was something she would choose. She had to save the valley. She had done it before and she would do it now.

Maria stuck raised her chin a little, and gave a little determined nod.

"Okay."

Robin stared at her, a small smile spreading across his face.

"I propose to you and all you say is 'okay'?"

"That hardly counted for a proposal," she replied, equally playfully. Somewhere deep inside her, she knew everything would turn out alright. It had to.

The pair walked about the forest, Robin insisting he knew the way home, and went the opposite way Maria had come from.

Maria still struggled with her skirts, and Robin glanced back at her as they trudged through the leaves.

"Having trouble, Princess?" he asked grinning, walking backwards to watch her.

She glared at him. "Not at all," she replied huffing.

He laughed at her, and turned to face forward again. Despite her struggles, it felt kind of nice to make Robin laugh. She smiled to herself.

Robin stopped suddenly ahead of her, and she ran a little so she could finally stand next to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, looking up at his face as he gazed around.

"That," he replied, pointing in front of them. A few feet away sat a medium sized stream. It looked like the water would come up to about just below Maria's knees.

"But it's just a stream…"

"Yes, but with that dress of yours, you're going to have some trouble getting across, Princess," he replied as he studied the river. He walked forward until he was at the edge of the water. He sighed.

"I'm going to have to carry you," Robin said.

"…pardon?"

"I said, I'm going to have to carry you across."

Maria looked back and forth between him and the stream.

"But it's just a little water!"

Robin rolled his eyes, apparently exasperated. "Yes, but it's probably enough to give you a cold."

"By getting my legs wet?"

"Just come on. You're nanny will have a fit if you get your dress muddy."

Huffing, Maria walked slowly over to him. Impatient, he closed the gap, and leaned down, putting an arm underneath Maria's knees. She gasped as he pulled them out from beneath her, and cradled his other arm around her back. Now pressed against his chest, Maria felt embarrassed again.

Ignoring the feeling as best she could, she pulled the rest of her dangling skirts away from the ground and put them on top of her lap.

Water splashed as Robin's thick boots stepped into the stream. One or two cold drops somehow managed to make it onto her face, and she wiped them away, wondering how Robin managed to stand in the freezing stuff.

Once they made it to the other side, Maria squirmed a bit in the boy's arms.

"You can put me down now," she told him.

"Certainly," he said, and held his arms out slightly as if he were about to drop her.

Her mouth opened, and she struggled. "Robin De Noir, don't you dare!"

"No?" he grinned down at her.

She rolled her eyes, and he grinned wider, gently letting her down.

"Oaf," she told him, lifting her chin up, and storming forward.

There was a laugh behind her, and Robin jogged up to her side.

"Sorry, Princess."

"Are we nearly home?"

He glanced around for a second, before looking forward again.

"Yes, it's just around that tree…wait…something's different…"

He stopped, and frowned. "I'm sure this is the way, but...wait right here." The boy ran quickly ahead and disappeared into the trees.

"Robin wait!" she called, but he was already gone.

Something snapped behind her and for some reason the light from earlier had seemed to drain from the woods. Everything was greyer.

_Oh, not this again_, she thought annoyed.

"Robi-," she said, turning around.

But instead of seeing Robin, she came face to face with a shadowy black creature, its only actual facial feature staring at her. His two red eyes.

**AN: Sorry this is once again, so short. I'm starting school next Tuesday, so I won't be able to update as much, though I'll try to update at least twice a week **


	5. Chapter 5: There's More?

**Chapter 5: There's more?**

**AN: ****Okay, so I just went back and read Chapter 1, and I realized it was pretty bad XD Wayyy too much detail, and not enough character interaction . I'm still sorting out my writing details so stick with me guys XD**

**REVIEWS:**

**Nicole- Thank you much! I'll definitely keep writing more ^.^ I'm kind of making this up as I go, so it's a relief people are finding it interesting.**

**Cassie- Thank you! I've been trying to make it slightly suspenseful XD (I've been waiting for a corrective comment for a while now actually, so this is was wonderful. Advice is always welcome) As I was typing the word 'nanny' I thought it was a little odd, but I just rolled with it. Governess fits so much better though! Also, Maria telling Robin off for making fun of her stiff governess would be a perfect situation! Thanks again for following this story, and commenting so much :) I'll post as much as I can now, and still update during school. Or at least on weekends XD Seriously, I LOVE reviews like this **

**Rapunzels- Oh my gosh! Thank you SO much! I did the exact same thing actually. I watched the movie a while ago, when I was nine or ten, and I couldn't fully admire the dresses and everything else although I thought it was a great movie. I suddenly remembered it recently and randomly decided to re-watch it and then BOOM! I was suddenly in love with it, Maria, and Robin ^.^ I just ordered the book so I'm going to see how that goes. I read over my first chapter, Chapter 1 earlier today, and I thought to myself 'Why has anyone continued reading this?' so thank you for saying that! The comments I've been receiving actually make me go write some more XD**

**Comment, follow, and all the rest please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Secret of Moonacre or the Little White Horse. Nor do I own any of the characters. Just my own writings (If I did own these, there would seriously be a second movie, and lots of Maria x Robin moments included T.T)**

Maria froze, trying to understand what she was seeing. There was no way it could real. She had to be dreaming, just like the last time she saw the very same red eyes.

Unlike in her dream though, the creature remained where it floated, simply staring at her. She stared back, tensed. The whole forest seemed silent, except for the rustle of leaves in the soft wind. The breeze ruffled Maria's hair, pulling a few strands away from her face. Gaining some of her senses, she took a tiny slow step back.

"What are you?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

The thing's shadowy frame rippled slightly, as if answering in movements. Maria noticed it was different from the creature at the wedding, which had moved so close to her. It had no hair, and was in fact just a shadow. A thought occurred to her.

"Do you have anything to do with the second curse?" the girl questioned her voice unsure but steady.

This time it tilted the oval like shape that Maria assumed was a head.

"Yes?"

Its frame shivered once again. Maria took it as a reply. The now grey eeriness of the forest was disturbing her, and she didn't know where Robin had gone. She felt a worried, but put the feeling aside. This could be their only chance for more information, though the creature couldn't actually talk.

The girl straightened her back slightly, determined yet cautious.

"I have an idea of why there is a second curse, so I won't ask you that…but isn't…." Maria struggled to find the right words. "Robin and I are engaged now, so nothing will happen to the valley, correct?"

The thing slowly and awkwardly moved its head up and down, in what looked like a poor imitation of a nod.

"Do we need to be married for the curse to be over?"

There was a pause that Maria dreaded, and then it slowly nodded again. She felt upset.

"But that's not fair!" she cried. "I thought that we only had to…" she trailed off.

Somewhere inside of her, when she had agreed to be engaged to Robin, she had regarded actual marriage as something that wouldn't happen. It felt like something unreal that could easily be avoided. Now that the truth was being shoved in her face, she couldn't fool herself anymore.

"What about the engagement? Didn't that count for anything?" she demanded, upset.

The shadow shivered for the last time, before it slowly bent over. One of its shadowy limbs twisted behind its back, while the other twisted in front. Maria realized that it was a bow, as if to say congratulations, you've done well.

"But-."

A loud rustle came from somewhere behind the creature, and its head snapped up. The thing raised itself above the ground, took one last deep stare at Maria, and zipped above the trees and into the sky. It was like a weight was lifted off of the woods, and sunlight streamed in. The leafy hilly ground Maria stood on was full of color once again.

Stunned, Maria simply stood there as the rustle from earlier became the sound of many feet clamoring trough the woods. By the time she snapped out of her trance, and picked up her skirts to flee, she knew she was surrounded. Men, who were actually young men when she looked closer, came out from behind trees around her in a circle, all dressed in black. There were about seven of them, and they were similar to the De Noir clan's people, though they seemed to wear simpler clothing.

Maria was starting to get rather sick of being startled and surrounded by various creatures, Robin, and bandits. From previous experience she knew that she wouldn't be able to fight them off, and this time Wrolf wasn't there.

Her hair whipped around as she spun, watching as they closed in, smug smiles on their faces. It was almost exactly like that time with Robin.

One of the men stepped forward, blond spiky hair covering his head, and a pure black bandana around his neck.

"So you're the Moon Princess, then," he stated, his voice amused. "Hmmm. I figured you'd be older, but, oh well."

Someone laughed behind her.

Maria bit back a retort as anger filled her. Why couldn't people just leave her alone? It was like the whole world was out to get her. She was tired and rather done with the whole 'Princess' title.

The man kept on talking. "Anyway, you're going to have to come with us now, Princess. We've decided to steal the De Noir's new toy."

Maria clenched her hands in her skirts. It sounded weird hearing Robin's nickname for her coming from someone else's mouth after so long.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, and I would suggest you find yourself another princess," she replied her tone giving away some of her anger.

"I'm afraid you are," another man standing next to mr. bandana said. He had black hair which peeked out from his equally black hat.

"I'm afraid I'm not."

Mr. bandana gave a bark of laughter.

"Feisty, as the rumors say," he said grinning.

A hand suddenly gripped Maria's arm from behind, and she was yanked backwards until she was facing one of the other bandits. This one had brown hair, and his eyes had a black lining around them, thinner than Robin's. On instinct, Maria's foot shot out, kicking the man as hard as she could in the shin. He groaned and bent over, his hands releasing her. The girl spun to flee but another one grabbed her from behind again. She struggled viciously.

"Leave me alone!" she shouted as she felt something being tied around her wrists.

Mr. bandana came in front of her, and just as the knot on whatever was holding her wrists together tightened painfully, the man bent down, and the world tipped as she was strung over his shoulder.

She kicked her legs out, trying to hit the smug man's face.

"Put me down! Robin! Robin help!" she screamed. The bandits had started to run through the woods, and she jolted around, her face bumping the bandits back. Her swinging foot made contact with something, and she heard a grunt.

"Shut up, Princess, or we'll make you," mr. bandana shouted, sounding less composed than earlier.

Maria ignored his warning.

"ROBIN!" she shouted one last time.

The bandit stopped suddenly and dropped her roughly onto the ground, knocking her breath away. She lay stunned on the leafy ground as the bandit whipped out a piece of fabric, and tied it tightly around her mouth. He threw her back over his shoulder just as fast, and began to run again.

Maria closed her eyes, deciding there was nothing else she could really do. A chance would come later to escape. She hoped.

They eventually slowed down after a long while, and Maria heard the clicking and clunking of a gate being opened. It became darker and darker as the light disappeared. Maria lifted her head to look to the side and saw that the walls were made of rock. Were they in a cave? The sound of many voices and laughter filled her ears as they went into another room. She could smell food and ale, and they had probably entered their feast hall or something.

"Gentlemen, we've brought back a gift from the De Noirs."

There was a great cheer and some laughter.

Maria was dumped onto the floor again, though this time she twisted around so her hands caught most of the fall. She reached up and pulled the gag lower so her mouth was free. The girl glared up at the bandit. He reached down, and pulled her up by her arm. She could now see that they were in fact, in a dining room, with a few long wood tables. The walls appeared to be made of dirt, and the only light came from some candles somehow stuck into the dirt. Many people, mostly men dressed in black, stared back at her.

She glanced at Mr. bandana to find him smirking at her.

"And now that we have you, we can finally-."

He was cut off as a loud yell came from somewhere near the tunnel they entered from. Most of the men previously seated stood up, hands on their weapons.

"There has been a breach!"

Mr. bandana cursed under his breath, and shoved her towards the black haired bandit.

"Take her to the prison," he told him, before unsheathing his blade and jogging down the tunnel.

The girl was pulled roughly down a dark thin entrance until they came to another room, this one with dirt floors, and separate barred prison cells. She was thrown into one, and heard a key turning into a lock a second later. When she looked up, the man was gone.

Maria scrambled to her feet and looked wildly around the room. This was her chance, and it could be her last. The other cells were unlocked and empty, and the walls separating them were made of dirt compacted and stack to the ceiling. She shook her head. Obviously her captors were a little on the stupid side if they thought dirt walls made a good prison. Sinking her hands into the crumbling dirt, she began to tear at it. The wall started to cave in the middle, and the dirt above it rained down on her. Eventually, most of the middle and top of the wall lay in a heap at her feet, and she quickly scrambled over it, reaching the empty cell next to her. There was a very dark tunnel leading away from the dining room, and although it was a gamble, she decided it was one that she had to take.

The girl stepped into the gloomy darkness, feeling along the rocky walls for guidance. She breathed in, and the air was fresher than it was earlier. _This has to be the way out_, she thought.

Maria closed her eyes for only a second and suddenly bumped into something slightly hard. The object, or person, let out a quick intake of air, and before she knew it, a knife was her throat and an arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Move and I cut your throat," a familiar male voice whispered in her ear harshly.

"Robin!" Maria shouted in a whisper.

The knife disappeared as well as the arm. "Maria?" the boy asked shocked.

She turned and nodded, hoping he could see despite the little light.

"How did you escape?" he whispered urgently.

"The cells were made of dirt," she told him bluntly. She realized something. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"I'm rescuing you, obviously," Robin replied incredulously.

"Yes, I know that. I mean how did you get in here?"

"There's no time for that now, I'll explain later."

Robin tugged on her arm, pulling her blindly through the tunnel. The ground became rockier, and it felt like they were walking uphill.

"Where are we?" she asked as he pulled.

"It's an underground cave."

Maria scoffed to herself. It was such a typical bad guy layer. The whole setting of the place, and mr. bandana's arrogant attitude were annoying her, and the fact that they couldn't even keep one simple prisoner made the bandits seem even more ridiculous. They were all bark and no bite, and she really wish she hadn't had to deal with this situation as well as everything else.

A bright light shone into her eyes, and she shielded herself with one hand as they stepped out into the fresh air. Robin kept running, now holding her hand instead of her arm, and he kept glancing over his shoulder. Maria instead glanced down at her pink dress, which was covered in dirt. Mrs. Heliotrope would most likely faint when she caught the state of the two of them.

Shouts came from behind them, and Robin cursed under his breath.

"Run faster!" he yelled, pulling her forward and nearly causing her to trip.

"You try…running…in a dress…this long!" Maria shouted back between breaths.

The two continued, sweeping through the forest. Robin tugged this way and that, and Maria wondered if they were actually going somewhere, or if he was just trying to get away from the bandits. The sudden tower of a familiar building appeared above the tree line, and Maria gave a shout.

"Robin, over there!"

"I see it!"

When the girl glanced over her shoulder, the sight of about ten bandits gaining on them made her run faster than ever. They came closer and closer, and just as Maria and Robin passed onto the treeless grass of Moonacre, several men on horses, Coeur De Noir in the front, swept passed them. There were yells and shouts, and the pair slowed.

"Wait here," Robin said quickly, pulling out his knife and running towards the chaos.

Maria, too exhausted to protest, simply placed her hands on her knees and gasped for breath. There was a bark, and she glanced up to see Wrolf bounding towards her.

"Wrolf," she said in relief. It was a comfort to be around the dog once again, for whatever reason.

The noise from inside the forest died down, and Robin came striding out beside his father, who sat on a large horse. Maria took a step forward to ask what had happened, but a familiar cry came from near the house.

Mrs. Heliotrope came running forward in what seemed like a panic.

"Maria, my dear, what ever has happened to your-"

Maria waited for it.

"-dress!"

While the woman fussed, Loveday also came running from the house, Sir Benjamin right beside her. Digweed and Marmaduke followed closely behind.

Mrs. Heliotrope finished patting the dust off Maria's pink skirt, and moved upwards, surprising the girl by putting her gloved hands on Maria's shoulders.

"Maria, my dear, whatever has happened to you? Have you been harmed?"

Maria opened her mouth while shaking her head, unsure of where to start. She glanced back to Robin who looked a little blank. Taking a deep breath, she faced her family.

There was a lot to explain.

**AN: Phew. That took a little longer to write than usual. Once again guys, I'm still finding my writing style, so if one chapter has more detail on the weather or anything else, while another has more interaction, it's because of that and I'm also trying to mix it up a bit.**

**Thank you for any reviews written! I'm really excited because I've ordered The Little White Horse, and although it's different from the movie, I'm looking forward to reading it. Anything I can get, I'll take XD **


	6. Chapter 6: If Only

**Chapter 6: If Only**

**AN:**** Hi ^.^ So here's Chapter 6. The Little White Horse book has just arrived, so I'm going to begin reading that :) **

**Sorry this took longer than usual to get out. I've been rushing around trying to get my stuff for school ready, and it's making me stressed. Ugh. I'm a complainer sorry XD**

**REVIEWS:**

**Snowball Tia Ashe- Thank you! Don't worry, I'm still writing more :)**

**Brave11- Thank you so much :D I'm going to keep writing this guys XD**

**Comment, follow, and all the rest please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Secret of Moonacre or the Little White Horse. Nor do I own any of the characters. Just my own writings (If I did own these life would be amazing, I would be a millionaire, and I wouldn't have to go to school T.T)**

Silence spread through the Merryweather's backyard as the people filling it took in Maria's words. It had taken quite a while to get out the full story, what with Mrs. Heliotrope making inquiries every few seconds, and everyone else's comments, but Maria had finally finished the retelling. Robin, she learned, had gotten strangely disorientated during her talk with the shadow creature, and hadn't been able to tell his left from right, while Coeur De Noir and the others had conducted a search party.

Loveday stepped forward. "Maria, while I agree that something had to be done about the curse for now, and the engagement is a good way to do that, rushing into a marriage isn't a good idea." She glanced at her brother. "And the same goes for you, Robin. Marriage isn't just a random thing. It's about love…it's a very serious business."

Maria didn't dare look at the boy behind her, not wanting to see the possible regret on his face at their proposal.

"Loveday, we have to do this," Maria replied simply.

It was true, they did. Mrs. Heliotrope, meanwhile, was fanning herself quickly despite the cold.

"Perhaps we could go inside?"

Sir Benjamin nodded abruptly. "These are matters…best discussed in private."

They proceeded to the house, the rest of the De Noir clan, besides Robin and Coeur, leaving with the horses. It was decided inside that, considering the curse was targeting both families, it would be safer to have Robin and Maria in the same place. The black bags Maria had seen the other night had been put there in case such a situation should arise, so the two De Noirs didn't have to fetch any luggage. Robin would be staying in a room on the second floor near Mrs. Heliotrope's. It was also decided that the weddings would go on as best they could, and the De Noirs would have patrols in the forest in case the bandits showed up again.

The sky had slowly grown dark, and Maria, exhausted, bid everyone goodnight before dragging herself up the stairs. She glanced over her shoulder just before she made it upstairs, and saw Robin staring up at her. He looked away as soon as her eyes met his, and Maria wondered if he was thinking about their engagement. Recently she had felt close to Robin, but also far. One minute they were comfortable around each other, and the next it was simply strange. She wanted to blame it on the curse and the whole engagement, but the behavior had started before that.

Sighing, she reached the top of the tower, and stepped into her dark room. Nearly collapsing from exhaustion, she changed into her night gown. She had washed all the dirt and dust from her skin earlier, and walked straight to her soft bed.

Serena was sleeping at the end of Maria's mattress, her fur fluffed up. Maria picked up the bunny gently, holding the furry creature against her chest. The rabbit would often wake up in the night and hop heavily onto Maria's chest, winding her. To avoid this, the girl would bring the creature with her to the front of the bed. Holding Serena was a comfort, similar to snuggling with a pillow.

"Oh Serena, what are we going to do?" she asked softly.

Everything felt like a mess, and it seemed to be getting worse and worse.

After a while, she must have drifted asleep, for the next thing she knew, she was woken up by the sound of her door opening. Maria sat up so fast Serena let out a little noise of surprise from where she sat on a pillow. Instead of finding mr. bandana or some other bandit, she saw Robin standing there, his hand on the door as if he were about to close it, and a very guilty expression on his face.

"Robin?"

"…yes?"

"What on earth are you doing?"

Robin stayed frozen before sighing, and carefully closing the door. Interestingly enough, he still wore his day clothes, his hat included.

"I don't know myself, so…" he said blandly.

Maria took a small breath, and ignoring the fact that she was wearing only her night gown, she hopped off of the bed. The air was chilly, and goosebumps arose on her skin. The coldness cleared her head, and made it easier to think.

The girl walked slowly over to stand in front of Robin, moonlight streaming in from behind her. He simply stared at her, but as she walked closer, she thought she saw him blush.

"Robin…" she asked, "what are we going to do?"

Robin's eyes darted over her face.

"Get married, I think…" he replied.

Maria shook her head. "No, Robin. What do you want to do?"

The boy looked away from her to the side. Maria knew that this was going to be hard. She was prepared for that.

**Robin's Perspective **

Silver moonlight shone from behind the girl, her hair glowing underneath it. Her white night gown floated around her as she moved from the bed, and padded cautiously towards him. Robin could see her face, and the look upon it was a mix between determination and tiredness, and he didn't understand how the two emotions could click together as well as they did on her. His face grew warm when he realized that he was practically fantasizing over the girl. He couldn't help it though.

"Robin…" she asked, "what are we going to do?"

He glanced between her two brown eyes, looking at both of them in turn. He remembered that day he had shoved her in the dungeons. The way those eyes had glared at him. He was starting to feel like an idiot, thinking all of these cheesy things about some girl. But then again, she wasn't some girl. She was Maria.

"Get married, I think," he replied, trying to be casual about it.

A small flash of something, hurt maybe, flashed over her face for a second.

"No, Robin. What do you want to do?" she said, accenting the 'you'.

Robin looked away from her to a patch of silvery light on the floor. He had already told her what he wanted to do. Of course, he couldn't explain that to her. She would probably never look at him the same way again. And sure, he hadn't planned to do something as drastic as marriage this soon, but he knew he liked her, loved her even. Imagining life without Maria felt strange, and foreign. Maybe he should tell her subtly, if not full out.

"I want us to get married, is that so hard to believe?" he muttered quietly still looking at the patch on the floor. He waited for her response, uncomfortable with the silence.

"I-."

A noise came from somewhere downstairs, and the two of them froze. Robin's hand slid to the hilt of his knife by instinct. He looked to Maria, and found her frozen. He watched as the gears turned inside her head, processing options. Her eyes suddenly snapped to his.

"Robin, do you think it's the bandits?" she questioned.

"Maybe."

Another noise sounded.

Maria crept slowly over to Robin's side at the wall.

"They're obviously not very good at breaking and entering if that's them," she murmed, and Robin was surprised to hear judgment in her tone. He supposed that compared to the De Noirs, the bandits appeared foolish and unskilled to the girl. It was true, they were. But that didn't mean they couldn't handle a gun or knife.

"Follow me," he said, and gestured with his hand.

They crept slowly under the little door, and paused just at the top of the twirling stairs. Robin would have preferred to use the secret entrance unlocked by moving the statue on the fireplace, but Maria wouldn't want to leave the others, and Loveday and his father were still here.

Together, the two traveled down the stairs, Robin stopping every few steps and putting his arm out in front of Maria to stop her, listening to see if there was any other noise. Eventually, when Robin did it once more at the bottom of the steps, the girl snapped at him.

"I'm not a child, I know how to stop thank you very much," Maria whispered angrily.

Robin rolled his eyes huffing. He was trying to protect her, and her complaining wasn't helping.

"Deal with it, Princess," he told her while looking left and right down the halls. The coast was clear.

Before he could take a step though, he felt a hand push him lightly on the center of his back. He tripped forward, hopping on one foot till he came to a stand still. Robin spun around to glare at Maria and found her smirking. She quickly brushed past him and to the main staircase. He ran lightly after her. They were all going to be slaughtered by the most useless bandits on earth if she kept jeopardizing the mission.

"Maria wait!" he whispered loudly at her as she simply padded down the staircase in plain sight. If they had knives she would be down in a minute! Then again though, they hadn't killed her that last time, and it seemed they only kidnapped her to spite Robin and the rest of the De Noirs.

Ignoring his warning, Maria walked straight through the front room, and stopped in front of the kitchen, where a light shone from underneath the door. Robin frowned, creeping up more cautiously than Maria. When he looked at the girl, she had a smile on her face and he wondered if she was going insane.

"Princess, I understand you don't really value your own life," he whispered, "but I'd like to keep my own for a while so if you don't mind…"

Maria scoffed and glanced at him. "It's only Marmaduke, Robin."

"What?" He knew they had some tiny weird man working as their chief, and he had seen him a couple of times over the past few days. But he never actually made any conversation.

"Marmaduke sometimes gets up at night and cooks. He makes a huge amount of food…"

"Shouldn't you have mentioned this earlier?"

"I forgot."

Annoyed, Robin staggered away from her groaning. He was angry that he went through that momentary stress for nothing, but at the same time somewhere inside him, he found Maria's behavior to be…cute.

**Back To Maria**

Maria pushed the large door open, wincing at the brightness of the light inside. Sweet and savory smells wafted around her, and it was warmer in the room than the rest of the house. Plates of delicious looking food sat on the table, making Maria smile in delight. Marmaduke often got one of his strange inspirational spurts, and would come and cook. Where the food usually went afterwards, Maria didn't know, though she had eaten some once.

The man was fixing something atop one of the dishes, and had looked up as the door opened.

"Looking for a midnight snack, Little Princess?" he asked, smiling while straightening himself. Wrolf suddenly peeked out from beneath the table and padded over to the girl's feet. Maria smiled and stoked his fur.

"No, we heard something downstairs, and Robin got worried…"

A slightly grumpy reply came from somewhere in the front room. "I did not."

Ignoring the boy once again, Maria walked forward towards the food.

"May I try some?"

Maria had actually gone the whole day with little food, only eating some cookies once they had come inside from the forest. Her stomach growled.

In a flash the chief was next to her. He pulled a chair out.

"After you."

Maria smiled and sat down, scooting her chair forward.

"Robin, stop sulking and come eat," she called, while stoking Wrolf again who had followed her.

There was some grumbling but the boy came and sat down one chair away from Maria to her left. The two tried bits of food here and there from various plates, until there came the shuffling of feet once again on the floor.

Mrs. Heliotrope appeared sleepily in the doorway, a knitted shawl wrapped modestly around her. Maria opened her mouth to explain what they were doing, but her governess simply walked like she was drugged over to her usual spot. The woman muttered a drowsy thank you, along with some other muddled words, as Marmaduke pulled her chair out. Maria and Robin shared a glanced followed by a smile before returning to their food.

After a while, more and more of the household slowly appeared in the breakfast room, and last of all Sir Benjamin showed up, muttering grumpily and trailing after Loveday.

Everyone slowly woke up, chatting happily, and soon it was if the curse and all their other troubles had disappeared.

Maria smiled to herself, looking around at her family. If only it could be like this all of the time. She glanced at Robin. If only…

**AN: Okay, sorry this kind of sucks guys. Like I said at the top, I've been running around, and I've also been at the stores all day, so I'm exhausted -.-' My next update should be somewhere around Wednesday or Thursday since I'm going to be busy for Sun (Tomorrow), Mon, and Tues. Bye! ^.^**


	7. Chapter 7: Dance With Me?

**Chapter 7: Dance With Me?**

**AN: ****Hi! Sorry for the wait but I've been preparing for school and stuff (WHICH WENT WELL) so I've been busy ^.^ I came back to see there were a few more reviews, and follows and stuff, as well as some reviews on my Moonacre Oneshot "Run". Thank you! **

**I wrote the piano scene dance based on the actual dance Sir Benjamin and Loveday do in the mirror flashback from the movie just so you all know. Though the room they dance in doesn't have all the flowers and light, it still looks like it does when Maria enters it, but with a little more light coming from the windows. **

**INSPIRATIONAL SONGS: Something There, Give Your Heart A Break (glee remix nightcore), Love Waltz (secret of moonacre), Stamp On the Ground (Nightcore).**

**REVIEWS:**

**wojo1224- Thank you so much! I was actually wondering a few days ago if the curse idea was really working out and all that, so this makes me feel more confident ^.^. I'm still working out the kinks and details, since I'm making this up as I go. **

**Nicole- Thank you! I'm writing as much as I can, and I'm really having fun with it. Here it is so I hope you enjoy :)**

**Comment, follow, and all the rest please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Secret of Moonacre or the Little White Horse. Nor do I own any of the characters. Just my own writings (The book wouldn't be as amazing if I did own these, though there would be a second movie)**

Maria's head drooped towards the floor, her reddish locks falling over her face. Light shone through the large window to her left, and patches of it fell across the blue green paint of the piano. Realizing what she was doing, the girl suddenly sat up straight, patting her cheeks with cold hands. Although staying up last night had been rather fun, the after effects weren't. Only a few of the household, including Sir Benjamin, Marmaduke, Digweed, and Wrolf had managed to wake up in time for breakfast, and even then it was late, around eleven in the morning. With nothing else to do afterwards, Maria had gone to the parlor, or as she liked to call it, the piano room. The piano lidhad remained shut of course, Maria being too tired to do anything but sit.

Sighing, she reached out her hands and gently lifted the chipped lid. Playing might her wake up, and besides, she hadn't done it in a while. The pianos keys moved on their own, and she placed her fingers above them, beginning to play the familiar tune. She could always play something else, but this was one of her favorites.

The music spread through the room, filling her ears. She closed her eyes, fingers still moving. Each key that was pressed gave a full sound, and it made her feel calm yet alert. Her shoes tapped against the floor lightly in time to the music.

Sensing a presence, Maria opened her eyes, still playing, and glanced at the doorway to see Robin leaning against the door frame. He looked similar to the day she had seen him at the funeral except for the small smile on his face. Maria smiled at him, before turning back to the piano. It annoyed her that the two of them kept avoiding the subject of their relationship, and she knew it was partly her fault, but for now she really just wanted to forget all of that. When she looked back to the boy she saw that he had walked a little closer to her and away from the wall. She picked up her fingers so she could talk to him, but to her surprise, the tune kept playing. Usually it would stop after she had played, and stay silent until she closed and opened the piano again, or played a different song.

An idea crossed her mind. Loveday and Sir Benjamin had done it, so why couldn't they? The girl stood up, brushing her velvet red skirts behind her, and walked over to Robin who just looked at her inquiringly.

"Robin, do you know how to dance?" she asked loudly over the music.

Robin shrugged. "A little, why?" he replied, equally as loud.

Maria grinned, and grabbed Robin's hands, walking backwards till they reached more of the center of the room.

"Do you remember Loveday's favorite dance?"

"I suppose so…"

Maria waited a few seconds before the right beat came, and held up four fingers, counting down till they needed to start. Robin understood, and right before the tune came, he took a step back, and together they both twirled two times, moving towards the door of the room, a slight pause between both twirls when they stopped to look at each other.

Maria's hair whipped around, and she smiled wider than ever. She saw briefly, between her spins, the familiar small smile Robin often wore.

The girl stopped, did a few more steps, and then was aligned with Robin, the boy putting his arms on her in the correct places. Their faces turned to look at each other, and Robin's was a milky white in the light. The shading around his eyes stuck out more than usual, but he looked unsure and happy rather than intimidating. Dancing with him felt… right.

Together, the girl and boy did a combination of moves, stepping forward, and stopping, pausing only as long as the music told to. After completing this twice, Robin extended his arm, and Maria held onto it, stepping out and in front of him. A smile still lit up her face. She wore the red dress Loveday had given her, and her reddish locks lay loose and curling around her shoulders.

They stepped towards each other, and back, and towards each and back. Each time they came slightly closer, but this time Maria didn't blush. It didn't feel embarrassing though her heart pounded, and she felt a tiny bit giddy every time his face was inches from hers.

Maria and Robin stepped together once more, the music slowly fading somehow. The girl's breath came a tiny bit heavily after all the dancing, but she couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from Robin. It appeared the same for him, and his breathing was also slightly labored. His eyes trailed over her face until they reached somewhere lower. Her mouth. Robin slowly, very slowly, leaned forward. He was slightly shaky, and he kept going a tiny bit backwards and then forwards again, still breathing heavily. But Maria didn't really care. She looked over his face, going up on her tippy toes a tiny bit, her hands lightly on his shoulders. She leaned in a tiny bit, and the closer they came the more she closed her eyes. It was like she was floating slowly into comfort, though nothing was happening yet. And then she could feel his breath, and his lips were there and-

"Maria, my dear, there are-oh…oh my…"

Maria jumped away from Robin, the latter doing the same. There, in the doorway, stood Mrs. Heliotrope, looking slightly ruffled and now like she was about to faint.

The governess raised a hand to her forehead. "I d-do believe I ought to retire and-oh!" the woman stuttered before sliding onto the floor.

Maria rushed forward. "Mrs. Heliotrope!"

She crouched down in front of the woman, not feeling in the least bit guilty of her previous actions, as she should have been, but instead only worried and a mix of something else. Happy, maybe?

"Mrs. Heliotrope, are you alright?" she asked, eyes searching the lady's face.

Mrs. Heliotrope looked up rather dazedly, as if just realizing where she was. "Oh, yes, I'm quite alright…" she trailed off, "quite alright…."

Suddenly she collected herself.

"Never mind me! Maria, my dear, you must get yourself to safety. The bandits are attacking!" the governess said determinedly, and struggled to her feet.

Maria looked over to Robin, who was now beside her, looking serious.

The boy had one hand on his dagger. "Where are they?"

"They snuck through the gate when the carriage came through…some of your father's men are there fighting but I don't know if that will be enough!"

Robin's jaw clenched visibly and he turned towards Maria. Despite the situation, a wave of love came over her for the boy.

"Maria, both of you go upstairs. It'll be easier for me to guard."

Maria frowned. She opened her mouth to argue, but the sudden shattering of glass sounded from somewhere in the house, and Mrs. Heliotrope gave a weird shriek of terror. The woman grabbed Maria's wrist, pulling the girl quickly towards the front room. Maria managed a last glance at Robin, and she saw him run to something deeper in the room. She could hear a yell, and some other unidentifiable noises. Fear swept through her. If Robin died…

Mrs. Heliotrope continued on, looking disheveled. They paused in the main room, the woman deciding whether or not they should follow Robin's commands, or go to a place with more exits. Maria knew they didn't have time to choose.

"Mrs. Heliotrope, we have to go!" she said tugging her governess toward the stairs, one hand lifting her long red skirt off the ground. They made it only half way up the first part of the stairs before the doors of the front room banged open.

"Princess, where are you?" a male voice questioned, his tone gleeful.

It was .

Maria stayed frozen processing. The sound of boots strutting against marble came from below, and it sounded as if they were getting deeper into the room. If he made it there, and looked up, well...

Mrs. Heliotrope quickly grabbed Maria's arm though, and walked briskly but quietly up the stairs. It appeared as though up was their only option.

Maria kept glancing back, checking to see if any traces of the black clothed bandits were trailing them, and wondered if Robin would be okay. Hopefully the leader of the bandits had been alone, though it was quite unlikely.

The two made it to the winding stairs, and walked up and up. A familiar strange feeling was going through Maria, and when she glanced at the outside through one of the windows, she saw the sky had turned grey, despite it being sunny earlier. She knew what that meant.

"Mrs. Heliotrope, wait, I think-."

She heard a great kind of suction noise coming from the bottom of the stairs, and then straight up towards her. It was loud, and it sounded fast, and she turned around just as everything froze, and a shadowy shape stopped very sharply and abruptly in front of her face, and the suction sound stopped. Maria ceased breathing for a few seconds, before the shadow and its red eyes floated back. She turned around to see what had happened to Mrs. Heliotrope, and found the woman frozen in what seemed to be mid-step. The girl turned back to the shadow.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned.

Its body quivered around the edges, and for some reason the word 'marriage' flashed through her mind, but in a voice that was not her own.

"Are you saying you want the marriage to happen soon?"

The shadow quivered again.

Maria didn't say anything. She already knew they had to get married. It had said told her that already. The idea that they were now being rushed didn't really make a difference to the situation.

"We already know that," she told the curse creature.

It quivered for the third time, and turned its 'head' around to look at something further down the stairs. Maria took a cautious step down, and peered around the bend of the wall to see the black haired bandit from before frozen on the steps. He had been so close yet she hadn't even heard him. She looked back to the shadow, and there was something about the way it looked back at her that made her spin around and run back up the stairs. About two seconds later, just as she reached Mrs. Heliotrope, everything sped up again, and the governess continued up.

Maria sped upwards, and grabbed Mrs. Heliotropes hand, making them run faster. If he was right behind them, they would be caught soon.

"Faster!" she gasped, and nearly collapsed when they reached the small door of Maria's room.

Mrs. Heliotrope managed to duck in, and Maria followed closely behind, spinning around and closing the door as fast as she could. She locked it with shaky hands just as a force hit the wood. The girl gave a small shriek, and stumbled backwards to her governess. They held onto each other, like the first day they had entered Moonacre.

_Robin, where are you_…

The thudding stopped for a second. "Come out now…and…we won't hurt…you or…your family…" said a breathless and frustrated voice from behind the door.

"You're cowards, the lot of you!" Maria shouted back at him while stepping forward. Her fist clenched at her sides. The idiot was acting as if he had them cornered. Which was true, but Robin or someone else would help, and if not, there was two of them, and only one of him.

"Fine. Then I'll just have to break down this bloody door!"

A thud sounded and the wood moved a little. It hurt Maria's heart to think of her lovely door splintered on the floor in pieces, but there was really nothing she could do.

Mrs. Heliotrope turned to her, expression perturbed. "Maria, we must block the door quickly."

Maria glanced around the room, and spotted a few heavy pieces of furniture.

"Help me," she said quickly to her governess, before running over to a chair, and lugging it up. The two placed it in front of the door, and then pulled Maria's clothing chest in front of that.

As the two females stood there panting, Maria realized she could faintly hear another noise over the sound of the bandit breaking down her door. She ran over to one of her little windows, where she could see battle going on down below.

"Mrs. Heliotrope! Over here…"

The woman rushed over and peered through the glass. She let out a little noise before spinning on her heel, walking away, and fanning herself while muttering. Maria looked back to the window.

Men, all dressed in black, swarmed below. They battled with what looked like only their fists and some knives. As far as she could see, Robin was nowhere below. This relieved her, but why hadn't he come upstairs?

Suddenly, an object was hurling towards the glance. Maria jumped back just in time, as a rock came crashing the window. Mrs. Heliotrope gave a little cry from somewhere behind her, and Maria stepped away from the broken glass quickly. More rocks came flying through, landing with small thuds on her floor.

"What's going on?" Maria asked, horrified.

And then the biggest shock of all. A hand reached up, grasping the broken glance around the round windowsill. Blood dripped from where the sharp shards pressed in, and Maria wondered somewhere in her head why the hand hadn't let go. And then the face appeared.

And there, grinning wickedly, was mr. bandana.

**AN: Sorry this took a while! I'm going to make up a schedule of when I will post and stuff, but I think it will be around Sat or Sun and Weds or Thurs. I'll start focusing more on the curse's storyline in a bit, just trying to get these bandits out the way XD Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites, and all the rest!**


	8. Chapter 8: Thank You

**Chapter 8: Thank You**

**AN: ****Hi! Okay, so the official schedule for my writing is on Wednesdays (if I'm late it will be on Thursday or Friday or the weekend. Just at least once a week).**

**I'm so sorry that I can't update as quickly as before, but hey, at least I'm still writing XD Enjoy!**

**REVIEWS:**

**Nicole- Thank you! I love that you've commented so much ^.^**

**willow de noir- Thanks! I'm trying, so that's good to hear. I love your user name XD**

**Thank you so much to anyone who has added this to their favorites, PMed me their opinions, reviewed, followed, etc. Thank you!**

**Comment, follow, and all the rest please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Secret of Moonacre or the Little White Horse. Nor do I own any of the characters. Just my own writings (If I did own these, life would just be amazing. And there would be a whole series of movies….)**

Maria stepped back and watched, horrified, as the slim bandit hauled himself through her tiny window. Blood dripped down his hands and onto the glass covered floor, and she wondered how they had ever gotten into such a mess. They were now more trapped than ever, with the black haired bandit at the door and mr. bandana in front of them.

The approaching boy grinned. "What an honor it is to see you again, Princess."

"What have you done to Robin?" she demanded, very slowly backing away from him to where Mrs. Heliotrope stood behind the bed.

"Hmmmm…" the bandit pulled out a knife from inside his jacket. Its black hilt was decorated with intricate swirls of silver, and the blade gleamed. "You mean Bird Boy? I'm afraid I haven't seen him."

"Liar!" Maria yelled at him. She had a feeling that the bandit wasn't lying, but that did nothing to ease the building panic inside of her.

The sounds of battle from below now echoed through the room, and the black haired bandit had supposedly given up on the door. Maria would have made a run for it, but there would be no time to pull down their furniture barricade. Mrs. Heliotrope, meanwhile, was making nervous commentaries to herself behind Maria.

"So, Princess, would you like to come peacefully, or shall I haul you through the window?"

Maria glared at him. "How about I stay here and _you_ go through the window?" she retorted. Mrs. Heliotrope grabbed Maria's shoulder suddenly, and moved to stand in front of her, clutching a candle holder threateningly.

"N-now I would suggest you leave, y-y-you…..ruffian!" the woman stuttered as determinedly as one could while stuttering.

The bandit laughed, throwing his head back. He straightened after a while, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Ahhh, priceless," he gasped, still laughing slightly. He sighed a little bit before fixing his black jacket. "Anyway, I'm afraid I don't have time for this so if you would just step aside lady, I-."

There was a little click somewhere from behind the door, and Maria glanced back just in time to see her lock magically jump up, and the door jolt with a thud. The furniture in front of it lurched forward, and with one more heavy shove, the chair and the chest were clear of the door, and it flew open. A figure dressed in black darted forward so fast Maria had little time to see his face, and instead of grabbing her, he jumped onto mr. bandana.

It was Robin.

The two men rolled around on the glass covered ground, fighting to get their arms free to throw a punch or knife. Maria's mind barley grasped what was happening. She spun around, and grabbed the candle holder from Mrs. Heliotrope hands. The girl picked up her skirts and ran over to where mr. bandana had pinned Robin.

The bandit grinned. "So Bird Boy, any last-."

WHACK

Mr. bandana's eyes gave one last blink before he rolled unconscious onto the floor. Robin kicked the bandit's legs off and scrambled up. There were a few cuts on the boy's skin and a long thin one his right cheek, but he appeared to be generally unharmed. He glanced at the Maria for a second, and then quickly grabbed a piece of something from his pocket, and bent down to tie the bandits arms. Now that they had the main cause of their bandit troubles tied up on the floor, life would probably be slightly easier. Maria glared at Robin as he stood up.

"You oaf!" she scolded, and threw her arms around his neck. His skin was slightly sweaty and warm but she really didn't care. Relief at seeing his face was overwhelming.

"Um, Maria. I'd love to stay here but we have to save the others..."

She pulled back quickly. "Sorry."

Robin grinned and scanned her face. "Well, I was hoping for more than a hug, but we'll get to that later."

Before Maria could reply he had grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the door and past Mrs. Heliotrope, whose mouth was opening and closing in a shocked manner.

Outside of the room, Maria caught a glimpse of the black haired bandit lying unconscious, also tied up, against the wall. A third candle holder lay on the floor next to him, and Maria assumed that it was Robin's, its purpose obvious.

The pair sped down the twisting stairs, reaching the hall, and then the grand staircase. A few unconscious (well, she _hoped_ they were just unconscious) De Noir clan men lay on the floor near the fireplace, as well as some bandits. Weapons were scattered across the ground or in limp hands, but there wasn't much blood, and it was safe to assume mostly fists had been used. No one conscious or moving appeared, so Robin took one last suspicious glance around before gesturing for Maria to follow. She picked up her red skirts once again, and they crept down the stairs.

For whatever reason, the yelling and clangs from outside had stopped, and she could only hear a few voices.

"Is it over?" she asked as they walked over to the empty fireplace, leaning forward to see that the front door was wide open. Light streamed in and lay across the white floor, and as far as she could see, the front area of Moonacre manor was clear.

Robin swept passed her and hopped quickly down the stairs, a knife in his right hand. He peered cautiously around the door, waited a second, and then walked slightly out.

The boy glanced over his shoulder. "It's clear."

Maria quickly walked to his side, and the two went out into the bright sunlight. There were a few blood stains on the ground, and Maria felt that same pang of worry in her chest as earlier, but this time it was for Sir Benjamin and the rest of her family. Despite the fact that she hadn't known her parents very well, the loss of them had hurt her, and she dreaded to think of ever losing Mrs. Heliotrope or the new friends she had made at Moonacre in the same way. It made her heart ache.

"Maria!" came a deep voice from their right. Maria could have cried in relief. There was Sir Benjamin, striding forward in his usual black jacket.

"Uncle!" Maria cried, and, picking up her long skirts, she ran to him. She caught a glimpse of his startled expression just before she threw her arms around her uncle in a hug.

There was small pause before the gesture was returned.

Sir Benjamin cleared his throat, and pulled away from the hug to rest his hand on her shoulders. "Have you been harmed?" he asked rather sternly, but Maria could tell he was concerned.

"No. Mrs. Heliotrope and I hid in the tower. Robin helped…"

"I technically saved your life!" came a shout behind her.

"Yes, but you took your time doing so," she called back rolling her eyes.

Sir Benjamin gave a nod to Robin over her shoulder, and turned to Maria. "The De Noirs, with our help of course, managed to fend the bandits off. Loveday and the others were in the kitchen at the time of the attack, except for Digweed, and they are, luckily, unharmed."

"And my father?"

Maria glanced over to see Robin next to her.

"Also unharmed…"

Suddenly Maria could hear voices and horses coming toward them, and from around the corner came the rest of the household, excluding Periwinkle and Serena. Mrs. Heliotrope had found her way down from the tower eventually it seemed, for she trailed behind the lot. Loveday burst forward and wrapped Maria and Robin in a tight hug. She pulled back.

"Oh, I was so worried. Are you both unharmed?...Thank goodness…" she exclaimed.

After the group finished telling their personal experiences of the bandit attack to each other, they prepared for the wounded to be removed and cared for, as well as the captured bandits to be moved to the De Noirs dungeons. It was around noon when all this business was finished, including clearing the glass from Maria's floor. A series of ladders, hooks, and ropes were found outside the little window and all along that side of the manor, indicating the bandits' way of reaching her window. It had involved some ivy growing on the wall below and a tree, both of which were cut and trimmed preventing further issues. Whatever medical supplies they had left had been placed on the table in the piano room, where Robin had retreated to treat some of his scratches.

Maria trailed down the stairs from her newly cleaned room to the main room where Loveday sat with Wrolf.

"Loveday, is Robin still treating himself?" she asked, letting her hand run down the dusty side of the stairs.

A strange smile crossed the lady's lips. "I believe so."

Looking at her questioningly, Maria turned to her right and opened the door leading to the hall. She closed the heavy door as quietly as she could and glanced about. It had become night, and besides the glow from the lanterns on the wall and the moonlight, there wasn't much light. The girl walked slowly until she reached the piano room. She pushed opened the door slowly.

"Robin-."

She hadn't been expecting that.

There, in the middle of the moonlight filled room, stood Robin, shirtless, with only his pants, boots, and bowler hat on. His pale chest was smooth except for a cut on his back, and he was twisting around with a wet cloth to clean it.

"Uhhhhh," she said dumbly.

They stayed frozen like that for a second longer before Robin reacted. He lunged for his messy little pile of clothes and held it in front of him.

"Maria!" he exclaimed trying to cover himself.

She burst out laughing. The sight of the boy turning bright red, and acting like a girl whose skirt had just flapped up in the wind was hilarious.

"A-are y-y-you shy, Robin?" she asked between laughs.

He glared at her, and determinedly threw his shirt down, as if to prove he wasn't. His arms folded over his chest.

"No, thank you I'm not. Now if you don't mind, I'm busy…"

Maria's eyes trailed down to his side where a bit of the cut peeked out. It would be rather painful if Robin twisted to clean it, for the skin would twist too.

"I could help you," she suggested.

Silence. Robin stared at the floor for a second before his eyes snapped up.

"Okay…"

There was an emotion in Robin's eyes that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but she moved forward to the table anyways. She could feel Robin's eyes on her as she soaked a clean piece of cloth. Patches of silver light fell upon the wood and her hands as she worked. For some reason the events of earlier, before Mrs. Heliotrope had interrupted them, flashed through her mind. She didn't feel as tensed as she usually did with Robin around now that they had almost…well….kissed. And Robin had been the one to make the first move.

She looked up into Robin's eyes before moving around him. Her eyes trailed over his back, and down to the cut. Her hand reached up and she gently dabbed the wound.

"Thank you," she said, eyes on her work.

"For what?"

"Helping us."

Maria could practically feel Robin grinning. "Don't mention it, Princess."

After she had finished cleaning, Maria folded up the dirty cloth and put it on a pile by the door. Meanwhile, Robin had pulled on his shirt, jacket, scarves, and his feather necklace. He finished rearranging himself, and glanced up as she walked over. His eyes met hers calmly, but she could sense a sort of nervousness there.

"Goodnight, Robin," she said smiling. Before he could answer she hopped onto her tippy toes, gave the boy a light kiss on the check, and spun around, running out the door with a large smile on her face. Just before she walked back into the main room, she glanced back. And there still stood Robin, a grin lighting up his face as if he had just won the biggest treasure in the world. Well, thought Maria, she had too.

**AN: Soooooo sorry for the wait! I've been super busy! . Don't worry, I'm still updating, just slowly XD This chapter pretty much sucked but hey, something is better than nothing right? No? Okay then….I'll try to update once a week, or twice, depending on my busyness/tiredness meter. Byyyeeeeee~!**


	9. Chapter 9: To Leave or Not To Leave?

**Chapter 9: To Leave or Not To Leave?**

**AN:**** Hello! Oh my gosh O.O…..I posted Chapter 8 and suddenly a few more people were following and I was just like….YESSSSSSSS XD**

**So yup, one last clarification on my posting schedule. I will try to always update at least once a week. I AM SOOOO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG. **

**And gosh, I seriously LOVE the Secret of Moonacre movie. I don't know what it is about it, but it's just…awesome. So I'm glad this fanfic is working out :) **

**REVIEWS:**

**Brave11- That's a relief! XD I posted it thinking "Well, there goes my followers" (Thanks for commenting so much btw. When I see the same person comment twice I'm like :D)**

**Nicole- XD Good! I've been dragging it out on purpose –insert evil grin- But it shall happen, don't worry ^.^**

**Cassie- Thank you! I tend to underestimate everything I do, just so I'm not disappointed if it fails. It's a bad habit XD But seriously, this comment is amazing! I always go over my story, but I only fix weird mistakes since I'm in a hurry. That advice is perfect though, especially using "moonlit room," instead of "moonlight filled the room". I LOVE hearing corrections or advice. Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**Guest- Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed reading story ^.^ Unfortunately, I won't be writing M rated stories anytime soon, so no, I'm afraid not. I don't know any authors, sorry. **

**SparxPrincess1994- You and Cassie have just made my entire year! I'm sorry about the underestimating myself, it's a REALLY bad habit XD I was actually thinking for a while that nobody would like this, and I just wrote it because I enjoyed the movie SO much, but then I got all these amazing reviews from people like you! I'M TRYING SO HARD TO MAKE THESE CHARACTERS REAL, but it's hard, because I'll write one scene and then realize that it's not very realistic, and then I'll have to rewrite it in-between a TON of school work so yeah. But thank you, thank you, thank you! I was so disappointed there wasn't another movie, or a bigger book, or something, so that's I wrote this **** (You have no idea how happy this comment made me XD)**

**Thank you for everyone who has followed, added this to favorites, or reviewed!**

**Comment, follow, and all the rest please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Secret of Moonacre or the Little White Horse. Nor do I own any of the characters. Just my own writings (If I did, there would be a lot of fanvids, and more movies, and everything….)**

"Inheritance? What inheritance?"

Maria sat in the room in which she learnt her lessons, a piece of half finished tapestry on her lap. The windows and doors were wide open, allowing full bursts of light to shine through. A cold breeze wafted in every while, pulling Maria's red hair from behind her ears and gently dancing around the hem of her silvery blue dress. Mrs. Heliotrope, dressed in grey with a blue scarf, stood in front of the desk with a letter in her hands. The governess had left their studies when Digweed called for her assistance, saying something about an important letter. Usually Sir Benjamin or Loveday took care of such matters, but both had left the house with the De Noirs.

Mrs. Heliotrope glanced down at the crumpled paper in her hands, shaking her head. "It says here that a second document written in your father's own handwriting has been found. You are mentioned in it according to this letter…"

Maria eyes shifted between her governess and the letter. It seemed unlikely that such a thing was real, since her father's first will was shown to be the official one with witnesses and all, but perhaps there had been a mistake? Either way, it would probably be set aside unless it was an addition to the first will. If not, it would be overridden as fake or unofficial **(AN: I don't study law or wills or whatever so lets just pretend that's how it works XD)**

Mrs. Heliotrope sat down still reading. The girl leaned closer to her governess to peer down at the paper. "What are they going to do?" she asked, eyes scanning the small letters.

Mrs. Heliotrope looked sharply up at her. "The question is, my dear, what are _we_ going to do."

"Mrs. Heliotrope, you can't mean…?"

"Of course. It says here that our presence is to be required. Sir Benjamin is also needed, as he is your legal guardian…"

Maria looked away, upset, and placed her tapestry on the table in front of her. They had just gotten Moonacre back, barely, and leaving it seemed…wrong. Leaving _Robin _seemed wrong. The curse hadn't bothered them in a while, in fact, nobody seemed to think much of it anymore, but Maria knew it hadn't ended. The shadow figure in the tower during the bandit raid had proved that. What if something happened to Robin because they left for some potentially fake document? She couldn't bear the thought. She placed her hands on the table and stood up.

"Mrs. Heliotrope, we can't go. It's not safe!"

The governess looked her up and down in a shocked manner. "Don't be ridiculous, Maria. We'll be perfectly safe."

"But the curse-."

"Maria. We must go. It is our duty to follow the government, as you know, and this matter concerns your father. You cannot brush it off."

Maria angrily sat back down, turning back to her needle and thread. Saying anything more would be unladylike as well as childish, and once Mrs. Heliotrope set her mind to something, especially something social, there was little that could change it.

The two sat in silence for the next several minutes, the governess with her bible, and the girl with her needle. A thought crossed Maria's mind.

"Mrs. Heliotrope?" she said while still looking down at her work.

"Yes my dear?"

"Wouldn't we need an escort? I mean, I'm sure Digweed is capable, but what if another group of bandits attacked us? We would be terribly outnumbered."

Maria could literally feel Mrs. Heliotrope tense up. They had been fine on their first travel to Moonacre, and the bandits had been defeated, but the governess probably hadn't bothered to worry about other dangers.

"I-I'm sure Sir Benjamin and Digweed together will be sufficient in protecting us?" Mrs. Heliotrope gave one of her shaky forced smiles.

Maria continued to do her needlepoint. "Oh, I'm sure…"

Mrs. Heliotrope's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"….but then again, I've heard there was a large attack on a village an hour away from here."

The governess closed her bible, and set it down on the table. She looked rather nervous, and though Maria felt bad, she knew it was necessary. "Yes, but I'm sure…"

"Supposedly they kidnap the woman and children, and get rid of the men. There's about twenty of them, or so the rumors say…"

At this Mrs. Heliotrope stood up rather abruptly, and walked out into the hall. "Digweed! Send for Sir Benjamin!"

Mrs. Heliotrope liked to take care of issues quickly, before she had actual chance to worry about them. Maria smiled. The foundation was set...

In the end Sir Benjamin wasn't sent for, as it was decided it would be quicker to travel themselves to the De Noir castle. Supposedly they had planned to meet there later after Maria's lessons, so the current situation wasn't an inconvenience.

Mrs. Heliotrope shuffled into the carriage, muttering under her breath about the need of a new means of travel. Maria, meanwhile, was offered a hand from Digweed, who she smiled at, and hopped in happily after her governess. The door was shut behind her, and Digweed quickly jumped up onto the front. Maria heard the flick of the reigns, and then they were off.

The rundown carriage tilted this way and that, throwing the two ladies forward and back, and a cold breeze continually blew through the two windows on the sides, despite the sunny sky. The road to the De Noirs was worse than the one from London to Moonacre, for after traveling along a horribly uneven path, they went off through the forest on another path that was, at first, quite steep. Maria tried to forgive the faults of the carriage and remain in high spirits, since this was, in fact, going to be the first time she stepped foot onto the De Noir land without chance of being kidnapped. Or murdered. Or potentially maimed. Currently though, forgiveness was not one of her virtues.

Maria's pale hands gripped the edge of the window and seat.

"Mrs. Heliotrope, how can we go to London….if your wedding is in a week?" she shouted over the noise from the carriage wheels and wind. Gentlewoman usually didn't shout, but Maria had really given up on that rule. The girl glanced over to see Mrs. Heliotrope with one hand on the window, the other at her chest, and her face turning green.

"Perseverance, my dear, perseverance…" Mrs. Heliotrope said weakly, and gave a sort of low belch.

Maria was stuck between rolling her eyes, and feeling sorry for the governess. Instead, she sighed and clutched the seat more firmly.

After several more minutes, a steep decent (in which Maria thought they were going to tumble to their deaths), and a bird flying through the carriage window, nearly giving Mrs. Heliotrope a heart attack, they finally arrived at the castle in front of a large gate. This lead to the long dusty path Maria had walked up the time she snuck in. All thoughts of 'perseverance' had disappeared from Mrs. Heliotrope and Maria as they simply sat there in the carriage, exhausted yet relieved.

Digweed hopped down from his seat, and whistled cheerfully as he opened Mrs. Heliotrope's door. The lady lifted her head dizzily, mumbling, and stumbled out with the help of the man's hand. Maria groaned and started to fumble with the latch of the carriage. Eventually Digweed opened the door, and she got out wearily.

In front of them was the whitish wall, and on top of it two guards dressed in black. Maria stared as she picked up her skirts and walked shakily over to Mrs. Heliotrope. Digweed proceeded on to talk to the guard behind the gate, and after a second, it was slowly pushed opened with a loud groaning sound. The trio continued up on the long path, receiving a few stares from people scattered about it. Digweed seemed oblivious to this, while Maria glared at anyone who glared at her, though there weren't many who did.

After what seemed forever, they reached the little entrance Maria had taken before. None of them knew where the front door was, and that left asking somebody. Digweed wasn't really capable of that, Mrs. Heliotrope was about to puke, and Maria really just wanted to get inside, so they marched in. They traveled through a few long stone halls, until reaching the rickety wooden staircase structure.

The murky gold hall was filled with candles, and unlike last time, it wasn't crowded with people. No smell of food arose either, and the only occupants were the guards standing at the doors, Coeur De Noir, Robin, and Sir Benjamin sitting next to Loveday.

"This is…rather…high," gasped Mrs. Heliotrope, leaning heavily a little further back against the stone walls. Digweed rubbed a comforting hand on her back.

Robin suddenly looked up and Maria's eyes met his, igniting that little spark inside her chest, speeding her heart up. Trying to be casual, she glanced back towards Mrs. Heliotrope who was fanning herself. A booming voice filled the room.

"Look who's here at last," said Coeur De Noir loudly. "Come, sit."

Followed by the couple behind her, Maria walked carefully down the stairs.

"Hello Uncle, Loveday," she greeted and sat between Robin and Sir Benjamin.

She glanced at Robin as she sat down, and realized his face was quite close to her. Their shoulders were even brushing, and she saw his eyes flicker over to her. Naturally she would have greeted him, but with the adults here…she felt…limited, and more than usual. The only one who actually knew about their 'feelings' (if you could even call them that for they hadn't been verified) for each other was Mrs. Heliotrope, by accident, and Maria suspected Loveday had her own suspicions.

Mrs. Heliotrope tiredly told the tale of past events, and, thankfully, didn't go into detail about Maria's bandit story.

"I-I don't k-know if it will be…safe… to travel alone in such a manner," Mrs. Heliotrope stuttered, handkerchief hand. "In such a manner", Maria knew, actually meant "in that horrible carriage".

Sir Benjamin rubbed his chin frowning. "I agree. I can handle my own, and so can Digweed, but I'm afraid we could easily be outnumbered with just the four of us and only two men."

"Five actually," Loveday corrected, giving Sir Benjamin a look.

Sir Benjamin gave an exasperated sigh, shaking his head. "Why must all the females in my life give me such grief?"

Loveday grinned at his side, and rubbed his arm. "You didn't honestly think I was going to stay behind did you?"

"No."

"Exactly."

Maria smiled at this exchange. Beside her, Robin looked eagerly to the head of the table. "Father, I know the way well, perhaps I could travel with them?"

Coeur De Noir grinned. "That would be a fine- oh."

"What?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to spare you this week. A patrol is heading out to the east to take care of some business, and your sister's wedding preparations are also being completed. We'll need everyone here."

"But Father-."

"Enough Robin."

Maria looked down at her lap, feeling all past delight fade. She had a bad feeling about leaving Robin behind. Very bad indeed.

Loveday leaned forward in her seat. "I fear the conversation is beginning to bore the younger of our company. Robin, how about you show Maria a bit of the castle?"

Robin stood up, glancing down at Maria. "Come along then, Princess."

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. The castle tour had been cut immediately short, a young boy running up to Robin and excitedly spouting something about a battle over a pig occurring outside. Robin had sighed heavily, apologized to Maria, and ran. Maria was then left, alone and lost, in the castle, and it took about an hour to find her way back to the hall. There she was told that the journey was to take place in about two days, and the weddings a short while after that. They bid their farewells to Coeur De Noir, and stepped into the horrible carriage once more. It was decided that the De Noirs would be staying back at their own castle, at least for the moment.

A day passed, and Maria didn't see Robin. She supposed it was because of the wedding plans, but she couldn't really see what Robin had to do with that. The day they left for London arrived, and still no sign of Robin. That was that then.

It was a rainy day, chilly and wet, and Maria had picked a light green dress, shaped like the one she had worn her first time riding Periwinkle. The sky was a cloudy grey, and a breeze traveled about as usual. Two small curtains were placed on the windows in an attempt to block out wind and rain.

Wrolf and the other animals were staying at Moonacre under the watch of Marmaduke, much to their displeasure, and the big black dog sat grumpily on the outer steps watching them.

Bags in hand, Sir Benjamin, Loveday, Mrs. Heliotrope and Maria piled into the carriage. Maria and her governess sat in their usual spot, while Sir Benjamin and Loveday mirrored them on the other side. With the addition of the new curtains, the carriage was almost completely dark. There was some shuffling in the front, and the carriage lurched forward.

Maria stared at a small gap in the window, and watched the rain flying past, thinking of Robin. Her Moonacre book had been packed along with her other things, and she had been keeping track of the new text that appeared there everyday. The book seemed to track almost every moment that was key to the curse, or other important events. It appeared that Maria reading the book was an important event, for some reason, for whenever she sat down to look over any new content, writing appeared telling of how she was, currently, reading the book. It was very odd reading about yourself, reading about yourself. Nothing important had popped up, but Maria had a strange feeling that it was the calm before the storm, not the curse ending. A voice cut through the cold silence.

"Have you received your dress for the wedding yet Maria?" asked Loveday with a smile.

"Dress?"

"Well you're my maid of honor, of course. What did you think you were going to wear down the aisle?"

Maria smiled faintly, Loveday's happy face rubbing off on her. "I hadn't thought about it."

Loveday leaned back in her seat, still beaming. "No matter, it should arrive soon. It's a beautiful dress, almost better than the bride's."

"Oh, I doubt anyone will be able to outshine such a beautiful bride on her wedding day," put in Mrs. Heliotrope, rather cheerfully considering her attitude the last time they rode in the carriage. Maria supposed it was Mrs. Heliotrope's knitting, something which seemed to calm her. Or maybe it was the idea of being in proper society again, where there were less rickety carriages and mice.

"I can second that," said Sir Benjamin with a small smile, turning his head to look at Loveday. The two gazed at each other for just a second, before turning away. Maria's heart ached a little. The glance they had shared reminded her of Robin…

After a few more hours in the carriage, and a travel by train, they reached London. The cobbled streets were misty and quiet. The landscape was familiar to Maria, but Moonacre still felt more like home. It had been arranged for them to stay at Maria's old house, since some of the furniture remained, and the government **(AN: Let's just assume the government or some higher power owns the house and because of the circumstances allows them to stay there) **had given it the go ahead.

The carriage came to a slow stand still in front of the house, Digweed opened the door, and soon the little group was shuffling into the chilly air.

Maria's eyes drifted upwards over her previous house, memories crashing down like a wave. The clearest were of those quiet evenings she had spent playing little tunes on the piano, or reading a book by the window in her bedroom. Of course, there were the rare times her father had visited, but those had never been exactly happy, and had thinned out when she turned twelve.

"Maria…"

She snapped out of her dream world, and saw Mrs. Heliotrope staring at her with a sad smile.

"Come along, dear."

Maria took a last look at the mist filled sky, and sighed, clasping her bag with both hands. She walked forward, eyes on the ground, and together the girl and her governess trailed toward the house.

Maria sat in a gloomy hall, hands clasped on the dark blue silk of her dress. The floors and walls were covered in brown oak wood, not at all brightened by the murky grey light seeping through one small window.

After speaking to Maria only briefly, the adults had sent her into the hall while they discussed 'other' matters. What those matters were, Maria didn't know or care. It appeared that the 'inheritance' was actually a note, and according to what the officials had said, a very strange one. Nevertheless, there had been another letter, written by her father, and it had been addressed to Maria, and said very firmly in the text that the note be delivered to her.

The girl glanced about the silent halls before she reached into her sleeve, and pulled out a long brown soft feather. She had found it on the floor in the piano room when cleaning up after the bandit attack. Robin had kept one of her ribbons, so it only seemed fair that she, too, had something of his. A small smile crossed her face. The feather gave her hope, as cliché as that sounded.

The large wooden door to her left clicked, and a pale Mrs. Heliotrope walked shakily out followed by a dumbstruck Sir Benjamin, and worried Loveday. Maria pushed the feather back into her sleeve and stood up abruptly.

"Mrs. Heliotrope, what on the earth is the matt-."

Before she could finish the governess held out a crumpled piece of paper. Maria took it gently, slowly looking down. On that one sheet, scribbled in messy handwriting as if the person writing had been in an awful hurry, was written:

_Pair with mutual feelings when curse starts will have certain side effects. DO NOT SEPARATE OVER LONG DISTANCES. Bad results. Feelings amplified, mood issues, and control of body might be lost. Reason for latter unknown. DO NOT SEPARATE. Incase of this, return together. Keep small distance between the two. Damage might be caused otherwise. Wait for symptoms to disappear. DO NOT SEPARATE. _

_-CORNELIUS MERRYWEATHER _

_This 19__th__ day of June, 1725_

**AN: I AM SOOOO SORRRYYY ABOUT THE WAIT. I HOPE IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN ;-; *sobs* (XD). Anywho, thank you for the amazing reviews and favorites, and for not ditching me *dodges angrily thrown cabbage* even though it took me about two weeks to get this out. THANK YOU. Byeeeeee~**


	10. Chapter 10: Beast Of A Bird

**Chapter 10: Beast Of A Bird**

**AN:**** …..I…AM…SO…SORRRYYYYYYY!**

**Homework has been continually ruining my life. I've had to work over weekends and late nights -.-'…BUT…here I am…..**

**Anyways, thank you, and welcome to my new followers and reviewers, and don't worry everyone, I won't give up on this story, even if I miss an update once or twice : ) Also, my attitude and style of writing and theme and atmosphere and all that seem to change depending on when I'm writing, so if this kind…sucks…or doesn't fit in with the other chapters…oh well….**

**REVIEWS:**

**Cassie- XD Thank you! Well, actually, Cornelius is Maria's great great grandfather, or similar to that (there was a date in the book on how old Maria was and what date she was that age, so I actually determined what age her father would be in a certain date, then got the date her great great grandfather would be around. Phew, complicated. Sorry I didn't make that clear). So basically a will written by Maria's father was found, and inside it left a letter to her (instead of something like a box, or jewelry). That letter was by Cornelius, who we shall maybe find out more about later ;) Though you **_**are **_**right about Maria's father appearing more in the story, and having some back plot and everything. Gosh, I'm getting so excited just writing this .**

**Liz- Thank you so much! ^.^**

**Brave 11- : ) It was so weird how it just happened…when I checked on youtube and fanfiction sites I found that a bunch of people did the exact same thing as me…it must be something about the movie and the people who watch it O.o**

**Eljama2014- Hi! Yes, I do know that, but thanks for pointing it out ^.^ I guess I should have explained, sorry! In my plot Serena comes back, since she was only released into the forest, not gone forever. It wasn't that complicated so I just didn't put it in -.-' Thank you SO MUCH though! (this is in reply to both of your reviews btw XD)**

**Mina- Oh my gosh, thank you so much! There are so many better fics, so this means a lot to me :D (and I suck at updating too -.-''''''''')**

**Cassie (again XD)- Why are your reviews so amazing .? Every time you post it feels like Christmas x20! (I know the feeling of checking so often since some of my favorite fics are updated almost only once a month T.T) But thank you! And also a thank you to all my other awesome reviewers : ) You guys inspire me to keep writing ^.^**

**Julia- Thank you and so sorry for the wait! (Oh, and hi ^.^)**

**Feliciaclark7- Awww, thank you! Sorry for the wait everyone!**

**GUMMY WORMS, GUMMY WORMS FOR ALL OF YOU!**

**Comment, follow, and all the rest please? You'll get a gummy worm if you do ^.^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Secret of Moonacre or the Little White Horse. Nor do I own any of the characters. Just my own writings (If I did there would be a heartbreaking beautiful wonderful amazing set of more movies ;-; )**

**WARNING: K, so this isn't going to be an M rated story or anything (at least I hope not O.O) but there might be a trigger or something here. Robin gets a little aggressive etc etc etc….yup…NOTHING M RATED HERE so yeah. Just be warned. Lots of emotions and stuff also. Cause I felt like it….Sorry… -.-'''''**

Shadows fluttered and danced across the silvery light spilling over the floor. A wind stirred the curtains of the open window, sending them billowing. The breeze was cold, and Maria shivered despite her thick blankets and nightgown. Whether it was because of the cold or other things, she couldn't tell.

Her old room had been refurnished, though in a similar manner to before. The new owner had apparently been planning to rent the house out, but his plans so far hadn't been successful. The house…the thought brought her mind to her father, which brought her mind to the funeral, which lead her to Robin, which lead her to the curse, which lead her to the note…which, well, lead her back to Robin.

Her head hurt. There had been a rather frantic discussion, or, at least, Mrs. Heliotrope had been frantic, after the note was read. Why or how Maria's father had sent the note or even how her great great relative had known about the matter was a mystery to her. The curse was something new, at least to their current generation. The most important and worrying thing, however, was the "DO NOT SERPATE" warning, written in thick hasty letters. It was a possible explanation as to why Maria had felt so wrong about leaving Robin, but she had decided that the cause was due to her own feelings rather than the curse.

The white sheets rustled as Maria sat up slightly, leaning on her elbows. Clear silver light shone through the window despite the thick mist, and the great silvery orb would appear every now and again through the white puffy wall hanging over London. A strong urge to be outside in that light, to feel that cool air filled her. Perhaps it was also due to the restless antsy feeling that had been inside since they left Moonacre that urged her forward. If only Serena were there maybe she wouldn't feel so empty…

Maria sat up slowly, and stretched her feet towards the cold floor. She would need to find something to cover herself with, for though she felt like nothing in the world mattered except for getting outside, decency came first. An old brown chest sat at the end of her bed, and the girl crept over to it. Its lid opened silently, and she reached in, pulling her grey knitted shawl out.

In a matter of minutes, Maria had pulled on the shawl, as well as her white slippers, and brushed through her hair once. The wild reddish brown curls lay around her shoulders in a messy tangle.

She made her way slowly through the long dark halls, heart pounding, and peeked cautiously around almost every corner. Finally, the front door came to view, and she placed a hand on it, pausing to glance behind her. She hated to leave Mrs. Heliotrope and the others like this, but the longing wasn't dying down and she knew sleeping was out of the question.

With one small click and push of the door, she was out into the silvery cool night. Maria breathed in heavily, sighing afterward with relief.

She glanced both ways down the silent wide street, and turned to the right. The park where they had held both of her parent's funerals was just a small walk away. She was about to take a tentative step forward when a low hum briefly filled the streets. Her head snapped up, and there, floating just in front of the moon, white light flooding from behind, was the shadow creature.

Its head was tilted, and red unblinking eyes stared her down. The shadowy edges of its "body" calmly drifted back and forth. Unlike at the bandit raid though, the shadow's atmosphere seemed peaceful, as if it were there to help rather than warn.

"Why are you here?" Maria asked, her voice even.

The shadow didn't answer. She would have to understand what it wanted by herself.

The girl turned her head back towards the right. Perhaps…? A breeze came from the direction she faced, as if pushing her away. Her hands clenched at her sides, and she took a step. Immediately, the low hum filled the streets again, and Maria froze, the breeze dying down. Yes, the shadow definitely didn't want her to go to the park.

"Is it the park? Am I not supposed to go there?"

Its frame gave a violent shiver.

"But why not?" she demanded, panic starting to take over. Strangely enough she suddenly felt hysterical, as if a nervous laugher were about to spill out. Her fingers tingled, and she felt as if she didn't do something her head would burst. If she didn't see Robin this instance, everything-…

Wait….

Maria's eyes studied the ground as she thought. What did seeing Robin have to do with anything? Yes, she missed him, in fact, she missed him horribly, but that was no excuse. With horror, she realized it was the curses side effects.

"It's Robin isn't it? He must also be behaving strangely…." Maria said as she paced on the cold cobbled street, not bothering to care if anyone saw her. Her hands reached up to clutch her forehead. "What if he hurts someone? What if he hurts himself? Wait…." she stopped pacing, "…he _won't _hurt himself on…on….purpose, will he?"

The shadow strangely moved its head side to side. Maria took it as a no. Relief filled her chest but also an aching pain.

"This isn't safe…we have to get home as fast as possible."

The shadow hummed in agreement, and somewhere in the back of her head Maria wondered why it didn't just use the hum as a way of communication more often.

A shriek came from somewhere inside the house and Maria jumped. She shifted her weight on both of her feet, trying to decide whether to stay or run back to the house.

She turned to the shadow. "Mrs. Heliotrope is awake …" she stated. Another yell and worried voices came from inside. "I have to go…"

She spun on her heel to walk briskly toward the front door, but paused, a thought crossing her mind. The girl took one last look over her shoulder, where the shadow still floated, watching her. There was a sort of loneliness there, deep in its red eyes; a type Maria had seen in many of the occupants of Moonacre before they had found one another.

She gave a small smile. "Thank you…"

_Trees dressed in silver and black flashed across her vision as she stumbled blindly through the forest. Desperation filled her heart, the feeling making it pound, begging her to run faster. _

"_Please!" she gasped. For what she pleaded she didn't know. All she could think of was the horrible, thick, black darkness swallowing everything behind her, leaving nothing she loved behind. _

_A figure, a light maybe, darted to and fro in front of her, hidden somewhere in the trees. _

"_Wait! Please wait!" _

_The gray silk of her puffy dress started to snag on previously nonexistent trees. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and just as she was about to give up and fall to her knees, the ground disappeared from beneath her feet, and she was falling through an endless cloud of brown feathers. _

_They were everywhere, flying wildly, pulling her through the air. Despite the shock of it all, a deep calm filled her heart, slowly helping it to beat at a normal pace. _

_A blinding orange light flashed around her like a pulse, and her eyes closed for only a second. When they opened, the girl found herself on the ground in a familiar forest. It had tall thin trees, and a murky green kind of atmosphere. _

_An echoing bark filled the woods, and it suddenly felt like she had been drugged. Her head spun even though she was sitting, and a blurry black creature bounded slowly across her vision. _

"_What…?"_

_She stood up in one forceful motion, the sky and trees twirling and rocking, and she felt as if the world were spinning. A crumbling castle upon a hill crossed her vision, and then memories, faces, were filling her eyes and head. Another castle, one with ivy on the walls, and less ruined than the one before appeared. More faces, more memories, surrounded her. And then there was one loud cry, strong and high and beautiful, cutting through the storm that was her thoughts; and a bird, a robin, soared gracefully amongst light and bright green leaves. A yellowy white light slowly faded over her vision, and she had one last chance to wonder where she'd seen such a bird, before-_

Maria opened her eyes sleepily to the familiar rocking of the carriage, and birds chirping every while outside. Light streamed in through the gap in the window curtain, and she shifted drowsily, glancing down at her light silvery blue dress. They had begun the carriage part of their journey last night, just after arriving from the exhausting train ride. With joy, Maria realized the weather had cleared up, and they were finally on their way home, to Moonacre.

Her eyes drifted towards the curtain, and she leaned forward, lifting a hand to draw it back slightly. Leaves and grass greeted her, and she sighed with content. She couldn't really remember why she had ever liked London, at least, not when comparing it to Moonacre.

When inspecting the rest of the carriage, she found Mrs. Heliotrope sleeping heavily, the governess's back straight even in sleep, and across the carriage was the happy couple, using each other as headrests. Maria smirked at this. When the group had first set out for London, the sight of their love had hurt, reminding her of Robin. Now that she was to see him in such a short while nothing mattered. Of course, there was still that nagging worry that something had gone dreadfully wrong, but the sunlight and nature were slowly washing those away.

The rest of the journey continued peacefully, the sun warming Maria's lap the whole way despite the cool air, and the gentle sounds of nature constantly outside. It was the best she had felt in a while, besides the time she had danced with Robin in the piano room. And walked with him through the woods. And kissed him on the check. And met him.

Eventually the road grew bumpier and bumpier, waking up the rest of the carriages occupants. Naturally Maria would have grumbled, but this time she only smiled. A bursting bubbly excitement was filling her entire being. It made her want to giggle for some reason. A bumpier road meant they were crossing into the beginnings of Moonacre. It had only been a few days, but she felt as if they had been away for years. Her heart gave a little skip at the idea of walking up the familiar white dusty staircase of the manor, and into her lovely room.

(QUICK LOVEDAY POV)

Unknown to Maria, Loveday was watching with a small smile on her face, taking in the girl's shining eyes and glowing cheeks. Loveday's hand gave Sir Benjamin's a squeeze. Maria often reminded her of her own younger self, and memories of past times.

Loveday had seen the way Robin and Maria acted around each other, and only wished they would be truthful about their feelings. They were getting there, but their relationship was obviously not defined. A sigh escaped her lips, causing Benjamin to cast a confused look. Young love was always so…complicated…

(BACK TO MARIA, HUZZAH!)

The carriage came to a stop, and Digweed hopped off the front, whistling to himself as he walked over to the gate. Maria's heart was going wild, as if she were about to burst. She felt the strange need to jump out of the carriage, and run off into the woods. It probably had something to do with the fact that this was the exact spot she and Robin had really seen each other. Yes, Maria thought, that's what it is.

She must have made some sort of noise or movement, because Mrs. Heliotrope glanced over and did a double take.

"Maria, my child, your cheeks are awfully flushed. Are you feeling unwell?" the governess asked with concern.

Maria shook her head, her red braid whacking the side of her shoulder.

"Oh, no, Mrs. Heliotrope, I'm absolutely fine. In fact, I'm feeling wonderful." She beamed excitedly.

Mrs. Heliotrope now looked very concerned, and shared a glance with Sir Benjamin, who appeared ruffled.

Not a second later, Maria sat up, shoved the curtain out of the way, and stuck her head through the window.

"How much longer, Digweed? We really ought to be heading on our way," she sang in a very un-Maria-like fashion.

Loveday looked at her, now suspicious. She had assumed naturally that Maria's behavior was due to the excitement of being back home and seeing Robin, but this was a little much, especially for Maria.

Digweed gave a happy "Certainly, little miss" and then they were off again.

Maria sat back down, practically jumping in her seat. After a while she grew bored, and turned to her uncle.

"Uncle, can you believe we're finally back? It's been ages. I wonder if Marmaduke has been lonely… Oh, he must have been! We'll have to throw him a party. I used to have these small tea parties when Father visited us, but that wasn't very often. But if I throw a party for Marmaduke, won't the animals feel awfully jealous? We can't have that Uncle, I won't allow it."

She raised a finger in the air, as if she had just had a thought.

"But then we can just throw them _all_ a party, can't we? I suppose so! And we'll have to invite Robin," she said with a little giggle, surprising everyone in the carriage. Maria barley ever _giggled_, and she certainly didn't do it while talking about _boys._ She took a sudden deep breath, and stopped talking, still beaming though, and looked out the window as if there were no one else in the carriage.

Something was definitely wrong with Maria; there was no doubt about it.

When the carriage came to a halt in front of Moonacre, Maria was almost hyperventilating with excitement. In fact, she felt as if she were about to cry and laugh at the same time. This would have been alarming, but at that current moment, Maria found it delightful.

Isn't it just _wonderful _to feel such emotion? No, the whole _world _is wonderful! Thought Maria.

The bursting feeling of happiness was becoming so strong she had to clutch her chest to keep herself from exploding, and tears were filling her eyes. Her entire face felt warm, and her head pounded.

"My goodness! Maria!" she heard Mrs. Heliotrope exclaim.

This longing, this horrible longing filled Maria to just do something, laugh, scream, giggle, anything. It was so strong that Maria began to cry. Something was wrong, something was horribly wrong.

"M-m-mrs. H-h-hehe-letrope," she gasped as her chest spasmed and she sobbed. It felt exactly like the one time she had a panic attack as a child, but worse.

Before anyone could move, she clutched at the carriage door, and it flung open, sending her tumbling onto the shaded grass. As soon as her hands touched the cool fibers, everything faded. It was as if a wave had washed over her or a taut string had been cut, releasing everything. The pounding, the heat and hysteria, everything just disappeared.

Maria sat there, shocked, exhausted, and confused

"U-uncle?" she called shakily.

Instead, a large dog came bounding over from the front door as the rest of the company struggled to get out of the carriage.

Wrolf nuzzled her face, and she put hands in his fur.

"Oh, Wrolf," she sighed.

It was the curse, she was sure of it. The girl would have been hysterical by now, but the side effects would ware off, that she knew. Or, at least, she hoped they would.

"Maria!" came Loveday's voice.

The rest of the group crowded around her, Loveday kneeling down to give Maria a hug.

Sir Benjamin stood looking pale above them, his arms folded.

"It's that dreaded curse…We must contact the De Noirs as soon as possible…"

Maria dabbed her face with a white handkerchief given to her by Mrs. Heliotrope, and stood up.

"But Uncle-."

"No, Maria. This concerns your safety…as well as Robin's…" he glanced at Digweed who stood looking concerned at the side of the carriage. "Digweed, we're taking a trip to the De Noirs…be ready."

In the end Sir Benjamin and Digweed left, and Maria was given orders to rest by Loveday and Mrs. Heliotrope. She went to sit in the library after being bored and worried in her room. To her comfort, Serena was already snuggled up on one of the lower shelves, and hopped lazily over when Maria entered.

"Oh, darling Serena" she said affectionately and scooped the creature up. The furry bundle helped her calm down, and thoughts raced through her mind.

All other problems aside, if Maria herself had reacted in such a manner, what was happening to Robin? He was already on Moonacre ground, which was what Maria had been longing for besides the boy. But if he already had that, the only other thing, according to the curse, he could want was…her.

Maria stood there in the silence, processing the thought. The thick air of the library grounded her, making it easier to be brave. She squared her soldiers. Something had to be done.

She strode over to a table and placed Serena gently on it.

"I'll be back soon, don't worry," she said, stroking the silky grey fur.

The girl tried her best to walk quietly to the library door, the floorboards creaking with every click of her boots. She peeked around the door to find the fireplace and surrounding area empty. Low voices came from the kitchen, and Maria picked up her blue skirts. She took slow wide steps, tense and cautious. When she made it to the front entrance, she took off running.

Cool fresh air hit her like a cloud, and she ran as fast as she could towards the entry way leading to the woods. Her braid whipped back and forth, and she had to hike her skirts up to reveal her boots and lower legs, an act that would make Mrs. Heliotrope faint, though after running through the woods in her underclothes, it seemed mild.

Soon enough, she was in the familiar forest, tall trees stretching towards the gentle sky. Maria had absolutely no idea what she would do once she found Robin, but she was hoping that at least being near him would be enough to rid him of any side effects.

She was a bit breathless, and quite sure her previously neat braid was now ruined. Either way it was time to continue on. It was the afternoon, a time in which Robin usually roamed the woods, so she headed in the guessed direction of the De Noir territory.

"Robin?" she called, struggling with her skirts. The only reply was birds chirping and leaves rustling.

And then she tripped, sprawling out onto the ground.

"Robin," she tried again. Just as she was about to stand, a hand gripped her arm tightly, and suddenly, right in front of her, was Robin.

His eyes were wide **(If anyone remembers the scene in the movie where his father says his sister- Loveday- was a traitor blah blah blah and so are you and blah blah blah while Robin is against the tree, Robin looks like he does there, all nervous and blah ^.^) **and desperate as they searched hers, and both his hands gripped her shoulders.

"Maria," he breathed.

Her heart pounded, and the situation reminded her faintly of the time he had gripped her shoulders and told her he ought to kill her.

"Robin, you're alright…I thought….," she gasped. "You'll never believe what we found…the will, the note, everything's just-."

She was cut off as her back hit sold wood, hard. A yelp passed her lips, and she squirmed in Robin's grip.

"Stop it! Robin let go!"

Her fists threw harmless punches. When she looked at Robin's face, she noticed that the curls around his forehead were slightly damp and messy, and his eyes seemed desperate and sad.

"You don't know how much I've missed you…how hard it's been," he said voice thick with emotion. It sounded as if he was nearly crying.

Maria stared at him, a bit horrified. The curse had taken effect.

He leaned forward so his head was on her shoulder. Warmth breath ghosted there, and it was like he was struggling to breath.

"I don't know what to do…why I am…like…" he breathed in shakily, his hands tightening.

Robin pulled back, and his face was now suddenly close to hers.

"Maria…"

And then, before she could process what was happening, his lips were on hers. It was only for second, and tiny little second, but it felt like the whole world had just shattered.

As soon as their lips touch, just as when Maria had touched the ground, Robin sank to the floor.

Maria had made it through many things in her life. People she loved dying, leaving her home behind, even saving a whole valley. But standing there, she wondered how on _earth_, they were ever going to make it through this.

**AN: I AM SORRY. It's been so long, I know -.-' I'm going to start writing the next chapter tomorrow, so chapter 11 should be out pretty quickly. **

**Wow…so this got a bit emotional. Sort of. I think. I want to say WAY more about this, but it's really really late, so I'm just going to say thank you ALL SO MUCH! I love writing, in fact I've loved it since I was eight years old :) And I love this story, and these characters just as much. This was something I started for fun, and I had no idea this many people would like it. Thank you again and again and again!**


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